


Café Hwarang

by AnnaWatermelon



Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bottom Lee Taemin, M/M, Top Kim Jonghyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:28:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22331914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaWatermelon/pseuds/AnnaWatermelon
Summary: BL cafes are a thing and I let my imagination go wild.
Relationships: Choi Minho/Kim Kibum | Key/Lee Jinki | Onew, Kim Jonghyun/Lee Taemin
Comments: 18
Kudos: 46





	1. Welcome to the Team

**Author's Note:**

> No, you're not crazy. Yes, you are seeing double!! It always annoyed me that I made my original "Café Hwarang" as a series rather than a multichaptered fic, so I'm fixing it now. Hopefully this will make it more accessible for any future readers! The original will still stay up, however, since I don't want to lose my lovely comments and kudos. I appreciate you all so much!! <3
> 
> Also, should probably explain what the hell a BL cafe is. BL cafes are a real thing in Japan where they sell food but also entertainment in the form of short skits and general flirting between the employees. Once I found out about them I simply HAD to make a SHINee AU lol. You can read more about them here!! https://www.tokyocreative.com/articles/19068-welcome-to-the-boys-love-academy-caf

Taemin took a deep breath as he stood in front of the wooden door, lined with advertisements from companies whose names were so faded they were impossible to read. His heart pounded in his ribcage, so powerful he could feel his pulse in his fingertips, pressed into the palm of his hand. He lifted his hand, prepared to knock, before dropping it to his side, and then raising it again.

Three soft taps of his knuckles signaled his presence. The hardest part was over. Hopefully.

He rolled on the balls of his feet, twisted them around, looking this way and that. His cheeks filled with air and he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, letting out the breath and watching the fog blow from his mouth. No answer yet. Had they not heard him? Would he have to somehow muster the courage a second time?

Just when his heartbeat was starting to speed up from anxiety again, the small door opened, revealing a short, tan man with dark brown hair. “Sorry, we’re actually closed right now.” He said, melodic voice betraying his somewhat rough appearance, probably flustered from working all day.

Not that Taemin minded, because holy shit was this guy handsome. The white dress shirt obviously one size too small, straining against his muscles, his sharp jawline, his plump lips set in a firm line, his round eyes starting to narrow as he looked at him.

Oh. He was taking too long to reply. He just made things awkward, didn’t he. “I’m Taemin.” He said, blush creeping up his neck.

The other man titled his head, making Taemin worry and blush that much more, because what if he was at the wrong place, or what if his email never sent, or what if - “Oh right, Taemin!” The stranger’s face lit up with recognition, beckoning Taemin inside as he held the door open for him. Taemin breathed a sigh of relief, crushing weight lifting off his chest. They entered the room together, Taemin only now noticing the sounds of running water and metal banging together a few feet away.

“Hey hyung!” The man called in the direction of the commotion, where a homey kitchen area hid behind a long counter. “Taemin’s here for his interview!”

“Just a sec!” A voice replied, almost drowned out by clamor.

“Jinki will be here in a minute.” The stranger told Taemin as if he hadn’t just heard their conversation. He just nodded instead, hiding his chin underneath his wool scarf despite the room being relatively warm.

The two waited in the middle of the room, both pretending they didn’t catch the other staring at them every so often, both wanting to say something to break the tense atmosphere but neither knowing how. Just when the man was about to open his mouth, he was interrupted by the same voice as before, now with the addition of the person belonging to it. “Thanks, Jonghyun, I’ll take it from here.” He said as he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, walking towards the two. The one Taemin now knew as Jonghyun clapped his hands on his thighs before making his way towards the kitchen, a little too fast to be considered casual. Taemin didn’t even realize he was staring at him until Jinki’s voice grabbed his attention again. “Here, let’s have a seat.”

Jinki pulled out a chair from the nearest table and gestured for Taemin to sit down, barely hearing Taemin’s quiet “thank you” from behind his scarf as he crossed over to his own seat. He placed his hands on the table in front of him and Taemin kept his in his pockets.

“So, uh...how has your day been?” Jinki asked, catching Taemin off guard. He wasn’t sure what kind of opening line he was expecting but it certainly wasn’t that.

“Good.” Taemin replied automatically, mouth still hidden behind his scarf, sinking deeper inside it every time there was a particularly loud bang from the kitchen.

“Um, so, you’re, uh, here for an interview, yeah?” Jinki’s face spread into a wide smile, apparently oblivious to his clumsy way of speaking.

Taemin blinked at him, face blank. “That’s right.”

“You…” Jinki paused to push his glasses up his nose, skin slightly sweaty, probably from the work he had been doing beforehand. “You know what kind of cafe this is, right?” His eyes were serious, but despite his sincerity, Taemin couldn’t follow.

“It’s...a BL cafe...isn’t it?” He answered with another question, each word slow and chosen with caution, terrified that he was missing something big and making a fool out of himself.

“Well yeah, but…” He let out a puff of air, splaying his fingers out on the table. “You know what it is we do here, right? You know this isn’t a regular cafe?”

“Um…” Taemin’s gaze wandered to the side, where a bookcase full of manhwa’s were displayed, neatly organized by series. He noticed the expensive looking couch, easily big enough to let two people lie side by side on it, maybe more. He also saw the kitchen where the three staff members were working, two of them standing unusually close to each other as they washed dishes together, and Jonghyun quickly turning his head and rushing in the opposite direction of Taemin. “People...come here...to...make us do things?” Taemin offered, shrugging his shoulders at the weak explanation.

“To act out scenes where we’re romantically involved with one another.” Jinki clarified with a soft smile. “You should probably get used to saying stuff like that if you want to work here.”

Was it hot in here or was it just Taemin’s entire body? “Y-yeah, sorry…” He stuttered, burying at least half of his face in his scarf by now.

“Hyung, stop scaring the new kid away.” A new voice joined in, one of the other employees that was working in the kitchen. Taemin looked up to behold quite possibly the most beautiful person he’d ever seen in his life. Glass-like skin, pronounced cheekbones, sharp eyes that somehow still felt gentle when they regarded Taemin.

“I wasn’t scaring him!” Jinki stammered back in self-defense, two hands on his chest. “Right, Taemin? I’m not scary, am I?” He asked, lower lip slightly protruding, and Taemin wasn’t sure if that was a serious question he was supposed to answer or what.

But in any case, the answer was “No, it’s just me. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

The new man tsked and turned to Jinki, placing one hand on the back of Jinki’s chair as he spoke. “You even convinced him it was his fault.”

No no no no no, Taemin tore his hands out of his pockets to shake them, chin rising out of his scarf, eyes going wide. “No, really! He’s been really nice, I didn’t mean to come across that way, I’m - ”

“So you do have a face!” The stranger laughed, clear and cutting, prompting Jinki to chuckle along with him. “I’m sorry for teasing you like that, but it is important that we know what you look like before we hire you.”

That didn’t quite sink in yet before the man was already observing Taemin, studying his face, making Taemin feel like he was being interrogated by a police officer. Not that that’s ever happened to him. He sucked on his lips, looking anywhere but the man’s face. God his skin was perfect, what the f -

“You need to hire him, hyung.” Was all he said, and he finally met Jinki’s eyes instead of Taemin’s face. “He’s really cute.”

If it were possible for steam rise off people’s bodies from how hot they were, Taemin would be a personal heater right now. Everywhere from the tips of of his ears to the bottom of his feet were a lovely shade of crimson, his heartbeat so loud it drowned out all his thoughts. “Thanks…” He managed, voice cracking in the middle.

“You’re even worse than Jinki, Kibum.” Another new voice entered the scene, this time along with the only employee Taemin hadn’t met as well as Jonghyun. The new person was way taller than Jonghyun, but had the same beautiful skin tone, albeit a little darker, and a mop of black hair that had two round ears sticking out of it. “You’re going to scare the kid off.”

“Okay, first off,” Kibum started, counting his points on one of his large hands, “he already looked like someone was trying to steal his lunch money long before I got here. Second of all, I only spoke the truth, and - ”

“Guys, seriously, stop talking for two seconds and let me do what I need to do.” Jinki’s voice was level but not stern, and the other three immediately went silent, waiting for him to continue. “Taemin, Kibum was right, physical attractiveness plays a key role in our hiring process and, well, you have enough of that to spare.”

Right now Taemin wished he looked like a slime monster so he could melt into the floor instead of having four pairs of eyes on him. “Thank...you…? Again?” He choked out, refusing to look anywhere but at the wood of the table he suddenly found exhilarating. It made sense though, considering the nature of the job, and the fact that everyone who worked here was impossibly gorgeous. Taemin hoped he’d fit in like they said.

“Uh, no offence, Taemin…” Jinki continued, drawn out silence coaxing Taemin into lifting his head to look at him. “But are you sure you’ll be able to handle participating in our scenes? You seem a little...shy.”

Taemin’s face fell. “Was it that obvious?”

“Hey, don’t boo him off stage before he’s had a chance to perform!” Kibum interjected. “At least let him try one out before making a decision.”

“Oh...yeah, that makes sense.” Jinki’s mouth hung open, mind seemingly working about a centimeter a minute. “Taemin, would you be okay with that?”

Well he definitely didn’t come here expecting to perform surgery when he looked the cafe up. He knew what he signed up for. He could handle this. Probably. “Yes, that’s fine.”

“I’ll do the scene with him!” Jonghyun announced not even one second after Taemin finished his sentence, hand shooting up in the air like he was in grade school, ready to be called on. Taemin wasn’t sure what to make of such a strong reaction and just stared in bewilderment.

“Yeah sure, go ahead.” Jinki replied, waving his hand nonchalantly at him. Jonghyun closed his hand into a fist and pumped it, probably thinking no one could hear him whispering “yesssssss”.

Seemingly ignoring Jonghyun and switching his attention back to Taemin, Jinki explained, “We usually have a rough idea we follow for any given scene, but for now just follow Jonghyun’s lead and do a bit of improv, okay?” He flashed a smile at Taemin, not showing any teeth but genuine all the same.

“Okay.” Taemin said in a soft voice, not feeling terribly confident in his acting abilities. But Jonghyun seemed like a nice guy, and certainly enthusiastic, so he trusted he would help him. He stood up from his chair and already Jonghyun was all over him, carefully unraveling his scarf, saying “This might just get in the way, it’s better to get rid of them now.”

It made sense, so Taemin unbuttoned his long coat as Jonghyun worked on his scarf, grateful for the help. A pair of snorts distracted him from undoing the last button, tearing his attention towards Kibum and his friend, leaning on each other as they grinned at Jonghyun.

“What’s so funny?” Jonghyun asked, glaring at the two and holding Taemin’s scarf in his hand.

“You’re so oblivious, hyung.” Kibum said, followed by a couple snickers behind his fist. “Do you even realize how obvious you’re being?”

“What’s obvious?” Taemin asked with a tilt of his head, not following this conversation at all.

“What, I can’t do this but I have to watch you three making goo-goo eyes at each other constantly?” Jonghyun gestured between him and Taemin when he said “this” and Taemin just really wanted to know what he wasn’t picking up on since apparently it involved him.

For the first time, Jinki was the one flushing pink. “I don’t make goo-goo eyes at them. I’m very professional at work.”

“Just this morning you gave Kibum a back hug and watched him wash his hands with your head on his shoulder.” Jonghyun accused, furrowing his eyebrows at Jinki. “I could even hear you humming as you rocked side to side with him.”

Jinki went even darker and Kibum just laughed some more. “You saw that?” Jinki asked, sounding genuinely embarrassed. Taemin felt a little bad for the guy.

“And the day before that you kissed Minho before going to clean a table, and before that you - ”

“Okay, I get it.” Jinki interrupted, ears bright red and lips set in a firm line. “Can you please just do what you need to do?”

Jonghyun looked at the scarf in his hand to Taemin’s jacket already hung on the back of his chair to Taemin, staring at him with a million questions swimming in his eyes. “Shit, right.” He hissed, placing the scarf on top of the jacket and taking Taemin’s wrist in his hand, leading him towards the corner where the couch was.

“This is probably our most requested scene.” He explained once they stopped in front of the couch, other three leisurely making their way to the same area to observe. “You’ll be lying there reading one of our manhwa’s, and I’ll come up and tease you about it. Sound good? I promise I won’t say anything mean.”

Taemin pictured the scene in his head, thinking it seemed rather tame in comparison to what he was expecting after looking the store up online. “That’s fine.”

The smile Jonghyun made completely took over his face like he couldn’t control it. “Great! Just get comfortable and I’ll grab a book for you.” Taemin nodded in reply and sank down on the cushion, making a face at how surprisingly stiff it was. He supposes sometimes things that are expensive are worse quality than cheap stuff. Goddammit, rich people.

Jonghyun rushed back not five seconds later and handed the book to Taemin, who thanked him and laid down on his back, opening to a random page only to be greeted with an entire penis. His eyes bulged out and he blushed a deep pink before hastily turning the pages towards the beginning of the book. His reaction must’ve made what he saw obvious because Minho was laughing at him, surprisingly high considering his low speaking voice while the other two tried and failed to keep a straight face.

He barely read through the first page before the manhwa was ripped out of his hands, half a mind to tell whoever had done that off before remembering it was just Jonghyun and part of a scene. Jonghyun was standing next to him, one hand in his pants pocket, friendly demeanor changed to something Taemin couldn’t quite place. “You read this kind of stuff?” He said, mocking edge to his voice. There was no way this was the same person he was talking to moments before.

“U-um…” Taemin stammered as he wracked his brain for a response. “I-I was holding onto it for a friend and got bored, it was the only thing I had on hand…” His voice trailed off at the end when Jonghyun turned to him, staring at him from the corner of his eyes, mouth tilting in the corner and raising one eyebrow. When Taemin gulped, his throat felt like sandpaper.

“Is that so?” Jonghyun said, lilt in his voice. He set the book on a nearby table and leaned over Taemin, placing a hand above him on the couch. “That’s too bad. I would’ve hoped you were into that.”

Taemin was sure he must look like a fish with how wide his eyes were and how his mouth kept opening and closing, brain too hazy to string words into sentences. “I...um…”

“Unless you were lying to hyung, huh?” Now Jonghyun was lifting his legs over Taemin’s, and he was on top of him, and he was so close and - “That’s a little naughty, Taemin. Are you naughty?”

Shit, okay, the things that did to Taemin weren’t even funny. His legs shook and dropped flat on the cushions, his hands balled into fists, his lips caught between his teeth so he wouldn’t accidentally make a sound. “I’m...I’m not…” His mouth went dry when he tried to get that last word out, he really, really couldn’t do it.

Right when he took an inhale to say something, anything, like he was expected to, Jonghyun grabbed his face, fingers stroking under his chin, thumb rubbing his bottom lip and forcing him to look at him. If he hadn’t known better, he’d say that this Jonghyun and the one he met earlier were twins and he was currently stuck with the evil one. His once warm eyes were narrowed and tracing his every facial feature, the mouth that was once seemingly stuck in a permanent smile now frowning slightly, as if Taemin were a bug and Jonghyun was done showing mercy. “Have you ever been kissed, Taemin?” He asked, and something in his voice, be it how rough it suddenly became or how his words were lined with belittlement, made Taemin do a full body shiver, praying to god Jonghyun hadn’t noticed.

“N-no…” Taemin breathed, forgetting he was supposed to be acting and accidentally answering truthfully without a second thought.

A toothy grin spread across Jonghyun’s face, not at all like the one Taemin was used to seeing. This one didn’t reach his eyes. “Would you like to?”

“W-would...would I…” Taemin repeated, fighting to keep his eyes open and register those words in his brain. Would he like to…

When Jonghyun started leaning in, it finally clicked. Kissing. Jonghyun was going to kiss him. His first kiss was going to Jonghyun and he was okay with that. Why was he okay with that? He braced himself when Jonghyun was so close, too close, and he squeezed his eyes shut, holding his breath and anticipating the feeling of lips on his. Oh god, this was actually happening.

Except...that didn’t feel like lips. He’d never had lips on his before but it definitely wasn’t supposed to feel like that, and he was pretty sure about this. But Jonghyun was obviously close enough for them to be kissing, and his skin set on fire when he opened his eyes to make sure and found Jonghyun’s face not even a centimeter away from his. So what was on his lips if not Jonghyun’s?

He took note of the pressure on his mouth and only once he took a moment to think about it did he remember Jonghyun’s fingers under his chin. If his hand was there, then that meant…

His thumb. It’s Jonghyun’s thumb. This is a stage kiss and Taemin is an idiot.

Jonghyun eventually pulled away from the kiss that wasn’t really a kiss after five seconds that felt more like five hours. He lay frozen on the couch while Jonghyun climbed off, hearing applause to his left from the other employees, because this was just an act but Taemin couldn’t move his legs.

“Great job, Taemin, you played the role of submissive dongsaeng perfectly!” Minho praised, and somehow Taemin was able to move just enough to face him.

“You would know.” Jonghyun retorted, earning him a playful slap from Kibum. And there was the old Jonghyun, with the real smile and genuine laughter and the crinkles around his eyes, standing slightly slouched and instead of towering above him.

Taemin would be lying if he said he didn’t like the other Jonghyun, too.

“I still have to look over your credentials, Taemin, but assuming those are fine, you’ll be working here by next week.” Jinki said, patting Taemin on the shoulder, completely oblivious to the chaos currently scrambling through his brain, where words melded together and actions were hopeless.

But a job. A job is good. That’s what he came here for. Yes.

He didn’t feel anything about being hired until he was finally able to really look at Jonghyun, watch as he played around and laughed with the others, not sure what they were talking about and it wasn’t any of his business anyways. A job here meant he’d get to see Jonghyun every week. A job here meant he’d be working side by side with him and getting to know him and spend time with him. His face finally broke into a real smile. This might be okay, after all.

Later that evening, as Taemin was walking to the bus stop, mind wandering, hands in his coat pockets, he felt a thin piece of paper brush his fingers. His eyebrows set and he pulled it out, holding it in front of his face, realizing too late that the snow was falling onto it and getting it damp. It didn’t matter though, because Taemin was already tapping the information into his phone, face breaking out into a smile.

_Call me - Jonghyun ♥_


	2. Firsts

“All the packages are labeled so even if you’re not sure which pastry is which just by looking at them, you can just read the bag it came in.”

“Right.”

“Now that I’ve explained this to you for ten minutes do you understand how to do it, Taemin?”

“Yes.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“...yes.”

Kibum sighed and probably thought Taemin couldn’t see him rolling his eyes as he turned to grab Minho’s shoulder. “Please help him.” He said, sounding like it took all his remaining effort to get those three words out.

Minho looked from Kibum, to Taemin playing with the hem of his dress shirt, to the box in his hands and back to Kibum. “I can do that.”

With a small smile, Kibum patted Minho’s shoulder and left him to it, saying “Just do what Minho does,” before planting a kiss on Minho’s cheek and leaving to grab another shipment from the front door.

Minho lifted the box onto the counter and easily ripped it open, handing Taemin two pastries and keeping two for himself. Actually showing Taemin exactly where to put everything instead of simply telling him seemed to work wonders, and Taemin followed Minho’s lead with little trouble.

Even though he wasn’t trying to, Taemin’s nervousness boiled to the point where he could no longer hide its physical symptoms. Blinking nonstop and biting his lip, nibbling it down until the skin was peeling off, fingers twitching and tapping against each other. Minho seemed to notice this and asked “Are you nervous?” as Taemin was loading a cookie into the display case, making him hit the back on his head on the edge.

“Probably more like anxious at this point.” Taemin replied, wincing at the sting as he rubbed the back of his head. He wasn’t mad that Minho surprised him though, it wasn’t his fault, he was just trying to be nice.

“What are you anxious about?” Minho pressed further, not that Taemin minded. He had nothing to hide.

Taemin paused for a moment as he thought. He was scared about taking orders and messing up. He was scared about sounding stupid when he talked to the customers. He was _terrified_ about what might happen if he was asked to perform a scene. But this was what he applied for and was hired for so there was no going back. And it wasn’t that he didn’t want this job, he really believed he could be happy here, he was just worried about what he could do to fuck up before he got the hang of things. “Everything. People. Everything to do with people.” He answered, shutting his eyes tight and opening them again, cursing himself when that didn’t stop the blinking.

“Well, I’m a people and I’m gonna help you get through today.” Minho said, standing next to Taemin as they both placed sweets on the wax paper lining the display case. That lifted a little bit of the weight off Taemin’s chest. Not much, though. “And I don’t know if this helps but I kind of get the feeling we’re going to be paired up for scenes a lot.”

The previously inconspicuous Jonghyun suddenly ripped Taemin’s attention away when he dropped a handful of roasted coffee beans onto the floor. “Shit, sorry.” He said, looking at Minho instead of the floor as he picked them back up. No biggie, it wasn’t Taemin’s job to worry about that.

But anyways. “What makes you think that, hyung?” Taemin asked, refocusing on his task for the morning.

“I just know what BL manhwas are like and I know what our customers are like.” He replied, natural smile faltering just the slightest bit. “To put it bluntly, I’m tall and muscular, so I’m basically exclusively placed in dominant roles.”

“Oh.” Taemin said, not entirely sure how he was supposed to feel about this information. “And I’m…” Scrawny. Weirdly disproportionate. Unbearably awkward. “...not muscular.”

“I’m really not trying to offend you or anything.” Minho’s words slurred together like he was in a rush to get them all out. “I’m just saying we kind of fit the stereotypes for doms and subs.” He handed Taemin the last of the pastries, warmth in his eyes showing his sincerity and sympathy. And it wasn’t like he was wrong, either. “I don’t even like doing dominant roles.”

“You don’t?” Taemin blurted out before he could think, brain never seeming to work at the same time as his mouth.

“Fuck no!” Minho said with a smile, leaning against the counter now that their job was finished. “I’m still good at it because I really enjoy acting, but…” He turned his eyes up to the ceiling, pondering what to say next. “It’s just more comfortable for me to play a character that reflects what I’m like in real life.”

Taemin never even thought about why the other employees decided to work here. It never occurred to him that some of them could’ve chosen it for reasons other than his own; money and an environment where he could be comfortable as a gay man. He obviously knew the others liked men based on their relationships, but even so, it made so much more sense for them to work here if they enjoyed acting. Because that’s really what they’re doing, performing for an audience. Taemin didn’t like acting. In fact he was terrible at it. He was always cast as a tree when he was in school. But now he could be surrounded by seasoned actors for all he knew and would stick out like a sore thumb.

If he wasn’t panicking before, he is now.

* * *

Even after preparing orders for almost two hours, Taemin still couldn’t keep his eyes open for more than a second and Jinki refused to let him see any customers until he felt comfortable enough. Thing is, Taemin wasn’t sure he’d ever be comfortable. He knew his first interaction would be a disaster anyways so he thought it’d be better to get it over with sooner rather than later but he didn’t have the breath in his lungs to tell Jinki that. And worse yet, the one person he thought might be able to help him was waiting on double the tables due to his absence. He felt like an asshole.

So trapped in his own thoughts, Taemin didn’t even realize he was staring at Jonghyun until Kibum joined Taemin at his side, following his gaze before a knowing smirk stretched across his face. “So how was your date?”

Taemin nearly dropped the plate he was washing into the sink. “W-what date? How did you know about that??” He stammered, blood starting to rush up his neck.

“I know everything.” Kibum said matter-of-factly, reaching across Taemin to grab a rag. Taemin’s shoulders slumped and he glowered at Kibum underneath his eyebrows. “Jonghyun is notoriously bad at keeping secrets.” He relented, grabbing the plate as soon as Taemin was done washing to dry it off.

Taemin felt his stomach churn. He knew Kibum and Jonghyun were friends, of course, and he didn’t mind if Jonghyun told people they went out, but he at least wished Jonghyun said something beforehand. But that’s dumb, it wasn’t like the date was a secret. Jonghyun had no reason _not_ to tell anyone. Taemin bit the inside of his mouth for overreacting to something so stupid. It was just the one friend. It was just one little date.

It was just one question he could’ve asked.

Kibum glanced at Taemin from the corner of his eye only to turn his whole body towards him. “Woah, Taemin, are you oka - ”

“Taemin!!” Someone interrupted, calling from behind him. He spun around to see Jinki leaning across the counter, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. “Someone just requested you for a scene.”

“M-me?!” Taemin stuttered, which, duh, of course it was him, he’s the only Taemin here, what an idiot thing to say. “Can they do that?”

“They must’ve seen you working back here.” Jinki clarified in a way that only made sense to himself. “And yes, you’re an employee, so they’re allowed to ask for whoever they want.”

Taemin’s face burned from both frustration and embarrassment, because obviously he’s an employee. Obviously he has to do his job. This shouldn’t be surprising to him. “Who is it with?” He asked, the first thing in his mind that made sense.

“Me.” Jinki gestured for Taemin to follow him but Taemin’s feet were glued to the floor. And his hands were wet. And all the scenes he had read up on had suddenly evaporated from his brain. He thought of everything and nothing at once and he couldn’t move until Kibum pushed him towards the dining area. He would’ve thanked him if his throat wasn’t closing up.

It was so much easier to keep walking now that he was already in motion, and he had enough sense to wipe his hands dry on his apron. Usually he would’ve done that on his shirt but this was a dress shirt and he didn’t have an extra so he applauded himself for managing that much. And suddenly he didn’t have the space in his head to be irritated anymore. Just anxious. That’s one less bad emotion than before. Maybe this wouldn’t be a complete and total disaster.

At least he thought he could pull through until he reached the table where two high school girls were giggling behind their hands, hiding their pink faces. He was going to make a fool of himself in front of them and they’d never come back and it’d be his fault.

“Taemin.” Jinki said, grabbing his attention yet again. Taemin tried to focus on what Jinki was telling him. It was important. He needed to know this. Jinki reached down to a small box on the table and pulled out a pocky stick, holding it between their faces. “You remember how to do this, right?”

Right. The pocky scene. Flirting and then more fake kissing. He knew the jist. “Yes.”

“Okay good.” Jinki handed Taemin the whole box and pulled out a chair for him to sit down. Right at the same table as the girls. Oh god, no. This was way too close for him, they’d be able to see his fuck-ups so clearly. He’d have no way to hide them.

He ignored the pit in his stomach and sat down, back stiff, face blank, hands curled around his apron. The girls were laughing. They were laughing at him and he hadn’t even done anything yet.

He wanted out.

Jinki didn’t hear Taemin’s silent pleas for help and cleared his throat at him, and Taemin’s heart jumped three feet in the air. He wasn’t doing what he was supposed to be doing. His fingers fumbled to open the box of snacks and his whole hand shook when he tried putting a stick in his mouth and the girls were giggling again. This was a mistake. The pocky tasted like dirt but he couldn’t spit it out.

“What are you eating, Taemin?” Jinki asked, and Taemin had heard that exact sentence before. It was a part of their script.

Taemin shoved the rest of the stick into his mouth, swallowing it down as fast as he could and hiding the box underneath the table. “Nothing, hyung.” He answered with practiced levelness.

Jinki placed a hand on the back of Taemin’s chair and leaned in until Taemin’s face burned. “You know you’re not supposed to eat on the clock, right?” He said, and Jinki’s warm breath wasn’t helping with the way Taemin’s body was on fire.

Somehow his hand managed to only shake a little when he placed the box on the table again, trying to look as embarrassed as he felt. “I’m sorry, hyung. Please don’t tell anyone?” His own voice sounded strange to his ears. This wasn’t him and those weren’t his words. They were chosen for him.

Jinki hummed and looked off to the side at nothing in particular, also something he had obviously practiced beforehand. “I suppose I could do that.”

The smile that pulled at Taemin’s lips was so forced it was almost painful. “Thank you, hyung, I promise - ”

“ _If_ you do something for me, that is.” Jinki’s eyes twinkled as he smirked and one of the girls squealed while the other wrapped her hands around her friend’s arm.

Taemin’s mouth went dry again and no matter how many times he licked his lips he still cracked when he said “L-like what?” The girl started shaking her friend back and forth and they were giggling again. Taemin’s stomach dropped.

Instead of answering with words, Jinki grabbed his own pocky stick from the box, holding it between his fingers like he was supposed to. “Share with me?”

“What?” Taemin said, getting that much out before the pocky was placed in his mouth by Jinki, and Jinki’s lips were around the other end, and his face kept coming closer. Taemin shut his eyes tight on reflex, feeling Jinki place his hand on his cheek, turning their heads away from the girls and biting off his end of the stick, close enough for it to look like they were actually kissing. Both the girls screamed and Taemin’s heart was beating so fast it made him dizzy, his whole body freezing up, counting the seconds that dragged on for far too long.

And then it was over. Jinki was gone, standing by the table and thanking the girls, hoping they enjoyed the scene. They nodded as they laughed again and Taemin ate the rest of the pocky that was still hanging out of his mouth. He was surprised when he realized he could actually taste it.

“Um...excuse me?” A timid voice called from not far off, and Taemin followed the sound to see a customer shaking her hand in front of Jonghyun’s face, trying to grab his attention. He had his paper and pen in his hand but he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking at him. Their eyes met for a brief second and Taemin remembered he was upset. Before he could even glare at him, Jonghyun jumped and spun around, realizing his mistake and apologizing to the customer.

“Taemin? Taemiiiiin??” Now it was Taemin’s turn to be startled. “I said you can go back to the kitchen now.” Jinki said in a gentle voice, rubbing Taemin’s back and grounding him in reality again. His face went red and the girls were laughing as they waved goodbye to them both, Jinki leading Taemin away with his hand still between his shoulders.

Taemin stopped when Jinki did, right at the kitchen entrance, and Jinki’s arms raised before falling to his sides again. He patted Taemin’s shoulder instead. “You did a perfect job, Taemin.”

“I did?!” Taemin let out, not thinking again. He thought for sure it was a disaster and he’d be fired on the spot. How could anyone think that trainwreck was okay?

“Yeah, those girls definitely had the hots for you.” Jinki laughed, the kind that made his smile take over his face and his eyes disappear.

Which, what? That made no sense. They were laughing at him the whole time, they probably thought he was a los -

Oh wait. The blushing, the squeals, the giggles, they all started to add up. Those girls have a crush on him. Taemin flushed a deep red and tried to fight the smile creeping onto his face. He needed to go back to work now. Girls liked him. He had a job to do. Two people out there think he’s cute. Maybe more.

Taemin shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts and thanked Jinki. Jinki praised him again and went back to the dining area while Taemin returned to the kitchen, where Kibum was washing the dishes by himself. His whole face lit up when he saw him, asking how it went, for him to spill all the details, congratulating him for getting through his first scene.

And when he told Kibum it went well, it didn’t feel like a lie.

* * *

“How was your first day at work, Taemin-ah?” Jonghyun asked, walking backwards and not watching where he was going.

“Good.” He answered, not watching where he was going either in favor of looking at the snow beneath his feet before he crunched it. The blanket of flawless white hurt his eyes but he didn’t dare lift his head.

“Yeah?” Jonghyun said, and Taemin could hear the grin in his voice before he turned around, probably deciding not knowing if he was about to run into a pole was not the best idea. Taemin could still feel his warmth through their layers of clothes as they walked side by side. “What made it good?”

“Um.” Taemin hummed, recalling today’s events. It was a long one, but he didn’t feel tired. Not like his old job where he’d be exhausted after barely an hour. “I did a scene.”

“I saw that!” Jonghyun sounded so excited it made Taemin wish he wanted to see him. “You did a great job, especially considering it was your first time.”

Taemin couldn’t stop the blush that was creeping up his cheeks and hid it underneath his scarf instead. “Thanks.”

They continued walking in silence, most of the cars cleared from the early night streets, only occasionally covering the sound of their footsteps. “Are you mad at me, Taeminnie?”

Mad? No, Taemin wouldn’t say that. He never gets mad. “Just annoyed.” It was the truth but he immediately wanted to take it back after Jonghyun stopped walking, boots fixed in place on the sidewalk.

“Oh.” Was all he said, and now Taemin was looking at him, not knowing Jonghyun well enough to read the expression on his face. “Do you want me to leave or should we talk about it?” He sounded so normal Taemin felt a pang in his heart.

And Taemin didn’t want to be upset with Jonghyun. He _liked_ him, and he wanted to keep liking him, and he wished this feeling would go away so he could keep doing that. One day he hoped they could be something, and letting these shitty feelings fester inside him would ultimately only hurt their relationship. “I have time.” He answered without giving an answer.

They ended up in a nearby Starbucks, Taemin sitting alone in a corner booth while he waited for Jonghyun to come back with their drinks. He could still see the snow falling outside and tried counting the flakes. They were too fast, obviously, but at least it gave him something to focus on while he waited.

“Here you go, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun slid his peppermint cocoa across the table and Taemin held it eagerly in his hands, warming them up until he could feel them again. He forgot one of his gloves today. The other one he didn’t forget, he just hasn’t found it yet. Jonghyun did the opposite when he sat across from him, taking his scarf off and unbuttoning his jacket. “So what’s up?” He asked, still trying to sound normal

Taemin opened his mouth to answer before he thought better of it. “It’s stupid, I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place, can we drop it? I’m sorry.”

“Taemin-ah,” Jonghyun reached his hand out, heading for Taemin’s own, but it landed on the table about halfway through. “If it’s affecting you then it’s not stupid. Your feelings exist for a reason.”

That made so much sense it felt obvious, yet Taemin had never thought that way. He was taught there were good and bad emotions; good ones you could show all you want, but the bad ones you had to smother and hide away. You shouldn’t be feeling that way in the first place, and the fact that you do makes you a bad person. The only way to get rid of them was to blame yourself until they never wanted to come back.

They always came back.

But Jonghyun said they existed for a reason, they don’t just pop out of nowhere, there needed to be something causing it. Whether you like that reason or not is up to you. And right now, Jonghyun was the reason. “You told Kibum we went on a date? Why?”

Jonghyun nodded slowly and sat back in his chair, taking a quick sip of his coffee before replying. “Kibum is a friend I keep updated on whatever’s going on in my life. He likes to talk about that kind of stuff.” Taemin felt nauseous again. Jonghyun shouldn’t even have to explain this to him, it’s so stupid, it doesn’t even matter. “I’m not going to put words in your mouth, Taemin-ah, so would you mind telling me why that bothers you? I’m just trying to understand, is all.”

Taemin huffed and his eyebrows knitted, because he really didn’t want to be talking about this. He wanted Jonghyun to forget about it and he wanted things to go back to the way they were before. But at the same time, he couldn’t shake this frustration off. It was to the point that his frustration with Jonghyun made him frustrated with himself for being frustrated. And well, Jonghyun asked, so. “You didn’t tell me you were going to gossip about me to our coworkers. They’re - ” He sighed and took a sip of his drink. Tried to ground himself. Make himself make sense. “They’re going to look at me different because they know you better. They know I like you and they could tease me about that. And…” His throat constricted and burned even hotter than when his cocoa was running down it. It was a mean thing to say, he couldn’t finish that sentence.

“What is it, Taemin-ah?” Jonghyun encouraged him to talk further after waiting for him to continue for a few moments. “You can tell me.”

The words bubbled at his lips, his heart wanted them out, but his brain was holding him back. But Jonghyun was expecting an answer. He needed to say something. He needed to get this out. “If we don’t last, they’ll blame me for it.” There. It was out. He felt awful and like a shitty person for saying it, but it was out there. “I just started working here and their opinions about me are already being made.” Taemin shook his head, trying to forget what he had just said, got his feet under him so he could stand. “I’m complaining about nothing, I’m sorry, I’ll leave - ”

He was halted by a warm palm laying on his fist. For a second, he just stared at the unexpected gesture, before following the arm attached to it until he found Jonghyun’s face looking back at him. His nose was red, his cheeks were red, and his lips, ghost of a smile playing at the corners, were red too. “I’m sorry, Taemin.”

“What?” Taemin asked, incredulous, sitting back down so he could get this next part out. “Why are you sorry? I’m the one being stupid.”

“I understand why you’re upset with me.” Jonghyun said, so gentle and genuine it tore Taemin up inside, brain not accepting this reaction, why he wasn’t telling him he was overreacting. “I’m still getting to know you. I didn’t know you’d feel this way, and I never would’ve said anything if I had. I made a mistake and I’m sorry.”

Taemin couldn’t think of anything to say to that. He was completely blindsided by this compassion, so different from every other situation he had been in, he had no prior experience to refer back to. “Thank you.” It came out without thinking, but it fit. He _was_ thankful. Thankful that Jonghyun had listened, had took him seriously, didn’t make him feel any stupider than he already made himself feel. He still thought he shouldn’t have brought it up, such an insignificant problem, but at the same time, he was glad he did. Jonghyun wasn’t upset with him and he could breathe again.

“Relationships involve more than one person and I neglected the other person in ours. I’ll try and be more mindful of that in the future.” Jonghyun pulled his hand away to grab his cup and take a drink, like he hadn’t just turned Taemin’s world inside out. “Sound good?”

It sounded amazing. “Yes.”

* * *

An hour later, Jonghyun was walking Taemin back to his apartment. They were talking about whatever came to mind, another first for Taemin, so used to closing himself off. He couldn’t remember a time where he could speak so freely to anyone, not even his parents. He barely knew Jonghyun and yet he didn’t feel the need to hide any of the things he hated about himself around him. Jonghyun listened when he was supposed to, said all the right things, never once made Taemin second guess himself. He was comfortable and he felt like home, his laughter like the warmth of a fireplace, the inside of his arms like a bed after a long day, his hands the blankets covering you and making you feel secure, one cupping Taemin’s neck, the other resting on the small of his back.

Taemin had no idea what he looked like when he pulled away from the hug, and for once, he didn’t care. It didn’t matter red and splotchy his face was, because right now, Jonghyun was so close to him. He was right there, with snowflakes landing on his eyelashes, smiling at him, so beautiful Taemin just wanted to…

“I really want to kiss you right now.” Somehow Jonghyun got the words out before Taemin did. His heart was bursting in his chest and his face hurt from grinning so much but all he could do was smile some more.

Taemin was never really good at talking, anyways.

So rather than responding with words, Taemin walked closer instead, until their shoes were touching. Leaned in until their noses were touching, too, staying there so they could look into each other’s eyes, such an intimate gesture yet Taemin didn’t feel awkward and didn’t want to shy away. Twisting his head so their lips could meet, taking the air out of his lungs, making his heart sing. Holding Jonghyun in the snow, smiling into the kiss, feeling Jonghyun smile back.

If every day at work could be like this first one, Taemin thinks he could be just fine.


	3. Play My Heartbeat

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Taemin’s heart pounded in his ears, against his ribs, in the tips of his fingers. “I-I was just going back to work…” His eyes followed the arm blocking his way, its hand pressed onto the wall, all the way up to Jonghyun’s face.

“What makes you think you can do that?” Jonghyun said, toothy grin and dark eyes eating him up from the inside, leaving him hollow. “We had an agreement, you know.”

“Hyung…” Taemin forced the lump in his throat down, grimacing as it fell, “...please, not here, people will see…”

“Let them see.” Jonghyun leaned in closer and Taemin could feel his hot breath on his lips, suppressing a shiver as his chest tightened and breath quickened. “Who wouldn’t want to watch such a cute boy getting kissed?”

Wait, what? That wasn’t -

Taemin’s thoughts were pushed away when Jonghyun grabbed his chin, forcing their eyes to meet, and he fought his instinct to shut them. His knees gave out when Jonghyun was so close their noses touched, and he would’ve fallen if not for the wall he was pressed up against. He dug his nails into his sweaty palms and held his breath, waiting for this to be over.

A forceful tilt of his head. Pressure against his lips, too stiff to be someone else’s. Four girls screaming five feet away. And then it was over, just as sudden as it had started.

“Thank you, we hope you enjoyed our scene!” Jonghyun’s bright tone returned as he bowed towards the customers, all of them either flushed pink or hiding behind their hands. Taemin felt nauseous as he thanked them as well, each bend at the waist churning his stomach more than the last. It was only his fourth scene but it was so much worse than the others, and it had everything to do with him and the man who was currently smiling at him so wide his eyes turned to crescents. “You did a great job, Taemin-ah.” He said, ruffling Taemin’s hair.

Taemin blinked back at him. “Thanks, hyung.” He tried giving a smile back, not nearly as difficult as he thought it would be. Probably because the scene was finally over and he didn’t have to worry about looking stupid in front of his boyfriend anymore. He let out a breath and started to make his way towards his section of tables, only to be stopped by a hand wrapping around his. Startled, he turned around, fully prepared to question Jonghyun, only for his words to catch in his throat.

The coldness that had been staring him down during the scene had melted, leaving Jonghyun’s eyes a warm brown with gold highlights that filled Taemin’s heart, let it swell in his chest. He smiled again, another different one from the first two, one Taemin couldn’t describe the emotion of. It made him blush regardless and look away, suddenly shy, not feeling teased like with the first one, but not feeling lifted up like with the second. If anything, he felt content.

“Your hair is messed up, sorry.” Jonghyun said and his playful smile returned, hitting Taemin with whiplash at the sudden yet barely there change. He wished he had more time to look, to try and figure Jonghyun out, but…

Now there were fingers running through his hair, pulling it this way and that, and the sounds of the cafe were completely drowned out by Taemin’s heartbeat. Jonghyun’s lower lip jutted out as he patted Taemin’s hair down, oblivious to the effect he was having on him. He wanted to relax into the feeling, to close his eyes and let Jonghyun keep touching him in such a soft way, but he was at work and Jonghyun was just trying to help. He nearly whined when it stopped, but Jonghyun had done what he wanted to, and was expecting Taemin to do what he needed to.

“All better now!” Jonghyun grinned, and he was so cute it was nearly impossible for Taemin to stay disappointed. Nearly.

“Thanks, hyung.” He rushed the words out, turning away and standing straight. His arms stayed frozen at his sides the whole time he walked back towards his waiting area, only moving once he had to grab some mugs two customers had left behind. Even when he gathered the dishes into his hands, he could still feel the hairs on his neck standing up. But he didn’t dare look to see if someone was watching him, because if he did, he wasn’t sure what he’d do with the confirmation. He didn’t even think he wanted to know.

When Taemin sneaked a peek and saw Jonghyun working the cash register like he was supposed to, he wasn’t sure if it was relief or disappointment that lifted the weight off his shoulders.

* * *

“I saw you had your first scene with Jonghyun hyung today, huh?” Kibum side-eyed Taemin with a smirk as he emptied the cash register. They were supposed to be closing up together but Jonghyun was off cleaning tables and Jinki and Minho were nowhere to be found. Kibum didn’t seem concerned.

“Yeah?” Taemin scrunched his face at him, arm still unconsciously wiping circles across the counter, not paying attention in favor of focusing on Kibum.

“How was that?” Kibum smiled wider, like there was an inside joke between them that only Taemin didn’t know about.

Embarrassing? Terrifying? His worst fear for days finally coming true? “Fine?” That wasn’t entirely a lie; he was still able to read his lines. Too bad he had no idea what he looked or sounded like.

“Just fine?” There was a lilt in his voice and Taemin didn’t want to play this game. He wasn’t like them. This wasn’t something he was used to and everything is unfamiliar and intimidating to him. He needed a clear answer.

“Where are you going with this, hyung?” It was better to just get this over with. Taemin blew his hair out of his face, bicep starting to ache from how hard he was pressing down on the counter.

“I mean, I know you guys are dating.” Kibum’s sentence dragged at the end, signaling he still had more to say, completely oblivious to the way it made Taemin’s throat close up. It wasn’t new information that Kibum already knew this, so he had no idea why he was reacting this way. “And sometimes, when I’m paired with one of my boyfriends, we…” His eyes shone and Taemin gulped, “...play around a bit, you know?”

Taemin switched his gaze to the counter he was still cleaning so that Kibum couldn’t see him blush. He really hoped the places his mind were wandering to weren’t what Kibum had meant. “Play?” He asked, knowing it was only way to find out.

“Yeah, like…” Kibum tilted his head in thought, hands moving as he spoke, “I might say something off-script to see how they’ll react, or maybe feel them up a bit, or sometimes even kiss them for real.” His grin pulled at his cheeks again. “I try not to do that last one too often, though, it always makes me want to go further.”

Shit, okay, that was a lot to take in. Taemin’s ears rang and his face felt like it was on fire. “Oh…” He said, just to say something, trying so hard not to think about what he wanted to.

But he wanted to so badly.

Kibum shut the register closed with his hip, now turning to face Taemin completely. Not that Taemin was facing him, though, hyperfocused on a light brown stain on the counter. “They’re okay with it, of course, I asked beforehand. I’d never try and make them uncomfortable on purpose.”

Taemin never doubted that Kibum was a good person, but he still appreciated that Kibum clarified. It didn’t fix the way his mind was clouding over, and he couldn’t seem to scrape this damn stain off no matter how hard he tried…

“Is this okay? You can tell me if I’m saying too much.” Kibum said, and now Taemin met his eyes, saw him leaning against the register, soft expression on his face.

He looked away again. “No, it’s fine…” Taemin choked before he could get that last part out, but it really was fine. If anything he was glad Kibum felt comfortable enough to open up to him. He just really had to fight his brain to not think about what would happen if someone else did those things…

“Wanna know a secret?” Kibum’s smile hadn’t changed when Taemin turned to him again, but his eyes had. They shone again, like he was so excited to get this next part out he could barely wait another second. Taemin nodded.

Kibum leaned down and cupped his hand behind Taemin’s ear, not touching him and not close enough to make Taemin feel his breath, but just enough for him to hear Kibum say in a stage whisper: “Jinki hyung is an exhibitionist.”

Taemin heart froze along with his body.

He was still fixed in place when Kibum headed towards the back room, and he might have told Taemin what he was doing, but he couldn’t understand with his thoughts shouting in his head. He had a pretty good idea who he was going to see in there, anyways. He called over his shoulder before disappearing, one last sentence to shift the way he saw the world. “Also, that stain doesn’t come out.”

* * *

This was the third day of work and the third day Jonghyun was walking Taemin home. He wondered if it was becoming a routine of theirs. With the way their relationship was going, he sincerely hoped it was.

“So the car was literally headed straight for that nun and I was screaming at her through the security camera even though she couldn’t hear me, and she backflipped over the car like it was nothing!!” The other thing that had also unfortunately become a habit was Jonghyun walking backwards whenever he wanted to talk to Taemin, which was often. “It was a really weird Easter.”

Taemin laughed at the visual while still keeping an eye out for things Jonghyun might run into, leading Jonghyun into laughing as well. “The most exciting Easter for me was just when my aunt threw my cousin’s jacket on a space heater by accident.” Taemin said.

“Did it get burnt?”

“The smoke coming off of it triggered the sprinklers and I vividly remember thinking it would make a sick music video.” They laughed again, Jonghyun turning to face forward, falling into step beside Taemin, finally letting him breathe. Now he just had to make sure he didn’t run into anything himself, which honestly was a million times more difficult than watching out for Jonghyun.

“Did you want to be a singer back then?” Jonghyun asked, fog blowing out of his mouth, their feet crushing the snow in perfect rhythm.

Taemin hid his chin underneath his scarf, muffling his voice. “I wanted to be Michael Jackson.” He said, freezing cold ears suddenly becoming warm.

“Aww~” Jonghyun cooed and Taemin rolled his eyes at him. Lots of kids wanted to be celebrities growing up. For him, it was just something to fantasize about and nothing more. “I don’t blame you though, he’s probably the most famous person ever.”

“I don’t want to be famous.” The words just slipped out of Taemin without a second thought and he bit his tongue. It wasn’t something Jonghyun needed to know and explaining himself would just make things awkward. He held his breath and hoped Jonghyun would just take that at face value.

Those five seconds Jonghyun took to think of a reply felt more like five hours. “And what about now, what do you want to be now?”

Taemin snorted, relief flooding over him. “I just want a nice apartment and a cute boyfriend.”

“Well it’s a good thing you already have one of those!” Jonghyun started walking backwards to let Taemin see just how giddy that statement made him, smile so wide Taemin thought his face might rip.

Taemin gave his own smile, mouth tilting to one side. “Yeah, my apartment is pretty nice.”

Jonghyun scoffed and held his hand to his chest in mock offense, jaw hanging loose but smile still in his eyes. They laughed together again only for Taemin’s face to fall when he noticed they were already at his apartment complex. Maybe he could just keep walking forward and Jonghyun wouldn’t notice…

“Oh we’re here already.” Jonghyun said and Taemin cursed inside his head. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet, he didn’t have work tomorrow which meant he wouldn’t see Jonghyun until the day after. It was a little concerning how fast Taemin was growing attached, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

They stood in front of the building, Taemin’s hands in his pockets and mouth beneath his scarf, Jonghyun leaning back on his heels and looking to the side, neither wanting to say goodbye yet. “Jonghyun hyung…” Taemin said, just to say it, feel how his name felt on his tongue, but now he had Jonghyun’s attention and didn’t know what to say. _I don’t want you to leave. Is that strange? Do you think I’m too clingy? I just don’t want to be away from you._ “Would you like to come inside?” Taemin was the one who said it but he was the most surprised. He’d only ever invited one other person into his apartment, and that was just because he needed his games dropped off after he left them at a friend’s house. Making requests wasn’t something he was used to, always worried about bothering the other and wasting their time. It wasn’t like he or his apartment had anything to offer them.

Jonghyun was only surprised for a second before he was smiling again, and Taemin couldn’t remember if his ears had always been that red from the cold or not. “I’d love to.”

Even before Taemin could unlock his front door, he was already questioning his choices. He hadn’t cleaned his apartment since...well, ever, actually. Is it as bad as he remembers or is he just exaggerating? Did he close the door to his bedroom this morning? Would he be able to close it before Jonghyun saw anything inside? Will he be a good host? All these thoughts swimming in his head and none of them stopped the door from opening after he pressed his passcode in.

“Is this your first apartment? You weren’t kidding, it _is_ really nice.” Jonghyun said as he looked around after placing his shoes at the entrance.

Taemin had fight his instincts to start blinking. “It is.” He replied, standing stock still at the door, wringing his hands in front of him.

“I lived in a goshiwon when I moved out.” Jonghyun was hanging his winter garments on the wall and Taemin wondered which one of them actually lived here. “I have a bigger place now but I think yours is still bigger.

Taemin’s stomach and eyes dropped to the floor. “Sorry.” It wasn’t a crime for his family to be well-off, but it felt like one. He had no right to be more privileged than others, but the universe doesn’t care about that. He just got lucky.

So wrapped up in his thoughts, Taemin almost fell backwards in shock when two pairs of hands started unbuttoning his jacket, Jonghyun’s face seeming so serene, like this was a regular occurance for him. Not sure what to do, Taemin let his arms hang awkwardly at his sides, heart climbing up his throat.

“No need to be sorry, there’s nothing wrong with having a nice home.” Jonghyun was focused on Taemin’s buttons but Taemin was focused on his concentrating face, eyebrows furrowed and jaw set. “Besides, I might just steal it from you.”

That was enough for Taemin to finally regain control over his body, just enough to say “Very funny, hyung.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Jonghyun hung Taemin’s coat and scarf next to his and something about that made Taemin’s heart skip a beat. “You’re the only thing I want to steal.” He pressed a quick kiss to Taemin’s cheek and grabbed his hand, no way of knowing how Taemin’s face was heating up, how his hand tightened around Jonghyun’s, how he couldn’t help the grin pulling at his lips. He led him towards the couch and Taemin barely even cared about the video games piled in the corner of the room or the rings on his coffee table from never using a coaster.

“You know it’s not stealing if I want you to, right?” Taemin had to look away to get that much out, face on fire, the pounding in his chest so loud he swore Jonghyun could hear it.

But Jonghyun showed no signs that he could when he gave Taemin a small smile, resting his arm on the back of the couch, saying “I know.”

Taemin could feel Jonghyun’s eyes on him, his own darting to and from Jonghyun’s face, wanting to look but too shy to do so for too long. He licked his lips, just now noticing they were as dry as his throat, and when Jonghyun stared at his tongue, he shifted in his seat, warmth from his face starting to travel downwards. “Can you blame me when I have someone as cute as you?”

Jonghyun saying that triggered a memory for Taemin, and he could focus again, suddenly so important that he got an answer. “You said I was cute earlier, too.” A lump formed in his throat when Jonghyun tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed, and his mouth felt weird when he continued, “Like, during our scene. You remember, don’t you?”

His expression didn’t change and Taemin was just about ready to ask him to forget about it when his face lit up. “Oh yeah, I did do that.” Taemin breathed a sigh of relief and Jonghyun went on. “I’m sorry, did that bother you? It was spur of the moment, I just thought of it.”

The opposite, actually, but Taemin couldn’t say that when he was already blushing this hard. “It didn’t bother me.”

“Oh, good.” Jonghyun placed a hand on his chest and lowered his head, and something about the way he had ended his sentence let Taemin know he still wanted to say more. “Did you like it?” He said, looking up at Taemin through his eyelashes.

Which, okay, Taemin couldn’t breathe. His mouth just hung open as he tried coming up with a response, but he was so warm all over, and he couldn’t do this. This is where he was supposed to say something flirty back but suddenly he forgot every word in every language he knew.

“Taemin-ah?” Jonghyun said, so soft, but so dark, his voice lower than normal. He’d never heard someone say in his name in that tone before and it shook him back to reality.

“Yes?” Taemin’s voice cracked but at least he managed to say something.

Instead of answering right away, Jonghyun shifted closer, wrapping one hand behind Taemin’s neck, playing with the hairs there. It felt as though Jonghyun was branding him with his palm, and Taemin couldn’t feel anything but that one area of his body. Jonghyun was still getting closer and Taemin couldn’t look away. “I really wanted to kiss you for real back there.” And there was that strange smile from before, the one Taemin wasn’t sure meant. He thinks now he might have a better idea.

Taemin struggled not to shut his eyes as he completely melted, and at those words, suddenly there was nothing more Taemin wanted than Jonghyun’s lips against his. “Please.” He said, and somehow that wasn’t in his head, it was out in the world. He was okay with that.

He only caught a glimpse of Jonghyun’s smile before it was pressed against his lips, Jonghyun’s hand pulling him in, dragging him closer. Jonghyun kept moving and Taemin didn’t know what to do, just followed his lead, humming through his nose at how warm and soft Jonghyun’s lips felt.

His attention was torn away for just a second when another hand was feeling across his back, stopping in the middle, pushing him forward and making him let out a little noise of surprise. Jonghyun moaned into his mouth and Taemin shivered, that one sound replaying in his ears, so perfect it traveled down to his lower stomach. He only vaguely processed that Jonghyun had pulled him onto his lap, too preoccupied with kissing Jonghyun back, trying to match his rhythm. He wrapped his fists in Jonghyun’s shirt, probably stretching it out, but he’d apologize for that later.

When Jonghyun’s tongue started licking along his bottom lip, he opened up without a second thought, somehow just knowing what he wanted by instinct. Taemin felt their tongues meet and he let out a choked moan, almost embarrassed, but he didn’t have time for that when Jonghyun was in his mouth, flirting with his tongue, making Taemin feel so hot he had trouble keeping still. Jonghyun’s hand was stroking up and down his back and he wanted to lean into the feeling, but he needed to be closer to Jonghyun, needed his body on his…

Taemin froze when he felt his hard-on against Jonghyun’s stomach. Luckily Jonghyun seemed to notice how tense he became, immediately pulled back, and Taemin almost regretted it when he no longer had Jonghyun lips on his, half a mind to pull him back in and pick up where they left off. But he’d need them to say this next thing. “Hyung.”

“Too much?” Jonghyun said, still stroking his back, but with the tips of his fingers instead of his whole hand. The repeating motion helped Taemin regulate his breathing and made him a little more relaxed.

He still had to bury his face in Jonghyun’s shoulder so he could nod and say “Yeah”, hiding his burning red face from the world. He was embarrassed that he wasn’t more experienced. He was mad at himself for not being able to go all the way and make Jonghyun feel good. He wished he was better at this relationship.

Jonghyun placed one hand on the side of Taemin’s face and gently coerced him into leaning back, face to face with Jonghyun now, and Taemin knew this conversation was important but he still wanted to avoid it. “I’m not going to do anything you’re not ready for.” Jonghyun said, and Taemin had to look away, hating himself for not being ready yet. But Jonghyun wasn’t having that and ran his fingers through Taemin’s bangs, and Taemin couldn’t help but melt again. “Your comfort is my top priority, I need you to want this for yourself. I can handle waiting.” Somehow he had read Taemin’s mind, and the negative thoughts started drifting away, no longer pressing down on him.

When Jonghyun left a kiss on his forehead, all Taemin felt was light. “Thank you, hyung.” He tried and failed not to smile, and Jonghyun immediately smiled back, and he wondered if Jonghyun thought he as cute as he found Jonghyun. Apparently he needed to hear that more than he knew.

“I’m just being a decent person, but thank you, baby.” Jonghyun said, beginning to shift their positions. That pet name slipped out so naturally Taemin forgot to be surprised, just let it seep into his skin and make his whole body tingle, heart beating so fast and so soothingly.

He couldn’t take his eyes off Jonghyun for a moment, smile still stuck on his face, and it hit him. The smile Jonghyun was giving him earlier. He knew what it was now because he was giving back the same one.

Adoration.

“Would you like to watch a movie? I can get you a drink or make snacks.” Taemin offered, wanting to keep Jonghyun here with him as long as possible, needing this flutter in his chest to stay longer. Because Jonghyun adored him and he adored Jonghyun. He didn’t even care if they didn’t talk, just his presence was all he wanted, knowing he was there whenever Taemin turned his head, it was more than enough.

Jonghyun’s smile was answer enough but he still said out loud “I would love to, Taemin-ah.” And Taemin beamed, bouncing off of the couch and heading straight for the kitchen, grabbing all his favorite snacks. “You’re not cooking though, right?” Jonghyun called from the other room.

“No, do you want me to?” Taemin replied.

“Please don’t.” Jonghyun sounded exhausted, which Taemin thought was a little unnecessary. At least he liked his cooking most of the time. Not his fault other people thought the idea of honey in ramyeon was disgusting, it still tasted okay to him.

But then again, he did eat ants as a kid.

...on second thought, he’ll just listen to Jonghyun this time.


	4. Personal Affairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have an Onminkey-centered chapter. Merry Christmas.

“Hyung?”

Jinki looked up from his checklist to Minho, who was avoiding his eyes and clasping his hands in front of him, and set his jaw. If he was this nervous around him, whatever he had to say couldn’t be good. “What is it, baby?” He asked, keeping his voice calming, gentle.

Minho’s adams apple bobbed when he swallowed. “Is it okay if I don’t do any scenes with Kibum today?”

If his scared voice wasn’t enough to break Jinki’s heart, his words certainly were. He set his clipboard on the nearest surface he could find and rose to his feet, face to face with Minho now. “What’s going on?”

Minho opened his mouth as if to answer before closing it again, eyes darting to the side. “I don’t know if I should say since it involves Kibum, too.”

Kibum. Not Kibummie, not even Kibum-ah, but Kibum. Jinki nodded and sat back down, pretending to read his clipboard, waiting. The silence only lasted a second before Minho broke it. “I think we’re fighting.” Minho said, no longer able to keep it inside anymore. It was what Jinki had expected but it was the last thing he wanted to hear. He kept his face carefully blank but his throat had dried up. “It was his fault, though.”

Ah, so this was still fresh in their minds. Minho hadn’t had enough time to view the situation as anything more than black and white yet. “I’ll see what I can do.” Jinki answered, determined to stay gray and neutral.

A ghost of a smile tugged at Minho’s lips. “Thank you, hyung.” He said before scampering off to finish his morning duties. But Jinki stayed put, cemented to the chair from the weight in his stomach. Of course he knew it was only natural for people who spend so much time together to have disagreements, but it didn’t stop him from wishing Kibum and Minho would be spared. The idea of the two people he loved the most no longer getting along left a deep hole in his chest, so scared of what had become the norm for them suddenly changing.

However, Jinki was nothing if not level-headed. He still woke with both of them on either side of him, so it couldn’t be anything too serious. And he was their hyung, he’d know how to help them, and even if he didn’t, he’d find out.

But as for now, there was a shipment of roasted coffee beans he was supposed to be taking care of. Personal matters would have to wait.

* * *

  
  


“Jinki hyung.”

This was now the second time today someone was asking for him, except now he was in the back room of the cafe and had lettuce stuck on his lip. “Wha?” He said, voice muffled through the sandwich still in his mouth.

Kibum stood above him, arms crossed, probably looking angry to anyone but Jinki. “Can I talk to you for a second?” His usually cutting tone was softer, another indication that he wasn’t irritated. Jinki just happened to know that the majority of Kibum’s less pleasant emotions took the physical form of annoyance. He wrapped what was left of his sandwich back in its plastic bag and placed it on the table behind him.

Kibum let out a huff of air. “Did Minho tell you anything yet?”

“Not really?” Jinki said, brushing the dirt off his pants as he stood. “All he said was you were fighting.” The way Kibum’s face fell made Jinki want to take it back, to pull him in close, but he knew this wasn’t the time for it. “Or at least he _thought_ you were.” He continued, next best thing he could think to do.

A hand reached out to pick the lettuce off Jinki’s face before it was tucked under Kibum’s arm once again. “I guess we are, then.”

“Kibummie - “ Jinki bit his lip, nickname spilling out of his mouth so naturally. Kibum’s expression didn’t change though and he was in the clear, “What happened between you two?”

“It was my fault.” Kibum said, taking Jinki by surprise. Perhaps this situation was closer to black and white than he originally pictured. He wasn’t sure if that made things easier or harder for him. “I said something stupid while we were out last night and he’s still upset.”

Jinki wasn’t going to ask what it was. If Kibum wanted to tell him, he would. And yet he was cursing himself for not joining them and their friends yesterday, wishing he had been there to make everything okay instead of studying for his exams. “Did you apologize to him?”

“Yes!” Kibum threw his hands in the air and let them drop to his sides. “That’s the whole point! I apologized and he still won’t say more than two words to me!” His voice cracked at the end and Jinki flinched.

Now it was okay for him to wrap his arms around Kibum, to stroke his back and speak softly into his ear. “I know this is hard for you. It’s okay to be upset.” Kibum sniffled a little and Jinki went on, trying to alleviate both of their pain, “You just want things back to the way they were, it’s normal to want that.” He hoped he was saying the right things, and when Kibum hugged him back, he felt reassured that he was.

“I feel like shit.” Kibum said, making Jinki grimace. Hearing him insult himself was another knife in the chest. “I can’t believe I said that to him.”

Jinki began slowly rocking them side to side, repeating, helping both of them calm their breathing. “You spoke without thinking, it happens. We all make mistakes, Kibum-ah, the fact that you recognize yours and try and make amends is what makes you a good person.”

“I can’t - ” Kibum’s voice broke again and so did Jinki’s heart. “I can’t handle it if one of you left me. You’re all I have.”

Jinki sighed through his nose, skin starting to crawl at what Kibum had said. Him and Minho were lucky, with both his parents not only accepting their relationship, but essentially adopting both his boyfriends as well. Minho’s mother was the same, even though his dad was another story. But neither of them had ever even met Kibum’s parents. They disowned him as a teenager when someone outed his sexual orientation, leaving him to live with his grandmother. Apparently she was perfect in every way imaginable, according to Kibum, but she passed away before Jinki could meet her. Kibum had no family besides him and Minho. Kibum himself would be the first to admit that he relies too much on his boyfriends for his emotional wellbeing, but even though he was trying to find other people, they were still his biggest supports.

And yet, “You have so much more than us, Kibum. You have so many friends that love you and a grandma watching you from above.” He pulled away to face Kibum, brushing away the single tear that happened to fall. “But we’re not going anywhere, you know. You’re stuck with us. I used super glue.”

A small laugh slipped past Kibum’s lips, a big victory on Jinki’s end. “Old man.” They both smiled at that, knowing the nickname came from a place of fondness, as well as knowing Kibum would be okay with time. He took a step backwards and gestured behind him towards the door. “I’ll let you finish eating. Sorry to bother you on your break.”

“You’re never a bother.” Jinki said, and it was suddenly so important that Kibum knew this, and he accentuated it with a kiss on his forehead. When he pulled back, all he saw was Kibum trying to fight the smile on his face, but he’d never be able to hide the way his entire face glowed from Jinki’s affection. “You know I love you, right?”

It was Kibum who leaned in for a kiss this time, pressing his lips against Jinki’s, so fast it left Jinki’s skin buzzing. “Love you too, hyung.”

* * *

  
  


In the end Jinki only had to cover for his boyfriends once, telling the customer that Kibum was too sick to do scenes at the moment and filling his spot himself. He eased his conscience by saying it wasn’t a complete lie, because Kibum’s heart was hurting, but he still felt a little guilty. Nothing compared to how awful he’d feel if he made Kibum and Minho even more furious around each other.

Now he was just sweeping the floor of the cafe, Jonghyun and Taemin doing their own cleaning duties and Minho emptying the cash register. He had told Kibum to head home early so now Minho was doing his job and Jinki was doing both his own and Minho’s.

Minho finished first but wasn’t ready to head out yet, judging by how he was approaching Jinki, no longer wringing his hands but still too stiff. “Jinki hyung, can I ask for some advice?”

Cleaning could wait, Jinki thought when he dropped the supplies and sat down at the nearest table, Minho joining him on the opposite side. “You can always ask me for anything, baby.”

“It’s just…” Minho started and sighed, looking around the room as he thought before meeting Jinki’s eyes again. “What Kibum said.”

Jinki blinked at him. “What about it?”

“Did he tell you?” Minho’s face scrunched up when he said that, as though the words tasted sour in his mouth. Jinki shook his head and Minho breathed out again. “I feel like I’m overreacting.” Jinki opened his mouth to say something but Minho continued, “We were talking with our friends, I don’t remember what about, but someone mentioned skinship because we were all a little drunk.” He paused and Jinki kept his attention on him, letting him know he was listening. “Kibum said he really likes being excessively clingy and I pointed out that he never is with me.” Minho’s eyes started to drop and he bit his bottom lip. “So he said he only does it with people he gets along with.”

Jinki felt that stab in his chest again, not only hurt by those words, but by knowing who said it. He already knew how awful Kibum felt for saying that, but it still didn’t change how angry he was that someone out there had hurt Minho’s feelings. But he wasn’t here to feel Minho’s emotions for him, he was here to listen and hopefully help.

“I know he was a little tipsy, and I know it was a joke, but I just.” Minho paused to take a deep breath and let it out, “It hurt. It still hurts.”

Jinki reached across the table and held Minho’s hand, palm on top of his fist. “It’s understandable that you’re hurt, someone you thought cared about you said something that suggested otherwise.” He rubbed his thumb back and forth across Minho’s knuckles and his face relaxed the slightest bit. “There’s no such thing as having too much of an emotion. You have to let yourself feel in order to heal.”

Minho was able to look at Jinki with genuine happiness in his eyes now, always so effortless to read from how impossibly large they were. “Thank you, hyung.” Minho gave him an awkward smile, side of his mouth twitching upwards. “I’m still trying to believe that.”

For the second time that day Jinki found himself getting angered at the thought of his boyfriend’s lives before he was a part of them. Minho’s dad was a failed athlete who projected his broken dreams onto his two sons, signing them both up for soccer when they were young. But Minho was younger, shorter, and skinnier than his brother; he could never reach the same level as him. So instead he was compared to him. It wasn’t just in sports, either, it was everything in their day to day life. And whenever Minho was overwhelmed, tired of living in his brother’s shadow, it was always the same story: your brother never acts out this way, why can’t you be more like him instead of being an embarrassment? He never learned to feel emotions in a healthy way, only to suppress them and try his best to be the son his parents wanted.

And now that he was with Kibum and Jinki, who loved him and wanted the best for him, trying to help him unlearn that was an ongoing effort. The fact that Minho could accept Jinki’s words as the truth and even admit that he’s trying to change the way he thinks about himself was an amazing leap from where he was a year ago. So Jinki gave him a smile back, one that expressed everything he was thinking without him having to say it. Minho would know what it meant. “I’m glad you can do at least that much.”

Minho beamed at the praise, face flushing the slightest bit. “Thank you, again, hyung.” He took a deep breath to prepare himself for this next line, a sentence that was just another thing he was trying to get used to. “I love you.”

Jinki lifted their hands to his mouth and kissed Minho’s knuckles. “Mmm, love you too, baby.”

* * *

  
  


As usual, Jinki was the last to go home, something that happened more often than not. Always taking extra time to make sure everything was perfect for tomorrow, fixing any last minute changes, closing the shop and taking the next bus home. But when he arrived, he was surprised at how normal everything looked. Minho and Kibum, watching old movies together, snuggled on the couch in matching pajamas.

“I assume you two made up, then.” Jinki tried, side-eyeing them as he hung his coat up, smirking at their equally wet hair.

They both looked at each other, smiles gradually building the longer they stared, unable to hide how happy they made each other. “You could say that.” Kibum said, and Minho snorted, burying his face in Kibum’s shoulder.

Jinki shook the snow out of his hair and made his way towards the bathroom, determined to warm his ears and fingers in the shower until he could feel them again. “Next time you ‘make up’, can you at least wait until I get home?”

The smirk Kibum gave him made Jinki gulp, knowing exactly what he had in mind before he even said it. “Who says we can’t go for round two?”


	5. Five Times Jonghyun and Taemin Didn’t Go All the Way and One Time They Did

“Thanks for doing this for me, hyung.” Taemin said, propped up on the kitchen counter as he watched Jonghyun cook.

“This isn’t for you, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun replied as he meticulously measured the amount of soy sauce he would need, “I’m doing this so I can actually eat a meal at your house.”

Taemin pouted at him, more for show than anything else. “It’s still less work for me.” He said matter-of-factly before tugging at the collar of his shirt, fanning it out.

Once Jonghyun had finished placing all the ingredients he needed in the pan he turned around to Taemin, almost leaning his elbow on the stove before quickly pulling it away. “I’m actually not so sure you aren’t just faking being a terrible cook to get me to feed you.”

A smile pulled at Taemin’s lips. “If I was, would it matter?” He felt his stomach start to flutter at his own teasing, awaiting Jonghyun’s reaction.

“Hmm,” Jonghyun dragged out his hum as he walked the two steps he needed to be in front of Taemin, placing both his hands on either side of him on the counter. “I suppose you’re right, I could never resist spoiling someone as cute as you.” He gave Taemin a smile of his own and the butterflies flew up Taemin’s throat, tickling his insides until he had no choice but to kiss Jonghyun’s smile off his face.

They lingered for a moment, Taemin’s body completely still but his heart pounding in his chest so hard he feared it would burst. It was just a quick kiss, done the moment Jonghyun pulled back, but his smile was still there. Not just on his lips, but in his eyes, too, deep brown crescents that were so warm it made Taemin blush and look away.

He needed to do something about the way his face was burning.

“Wow, it really is hot in here.” Taemin said, latching onto the first excuse he could think of, pulling on his shirt collar again. And it wasn’t exactly a lie, the stove was gradually heating the room the longer the food cooked, but it wasn’t anything too extreme. If anything, it was a welcome change from the harsh winter just outside his window.

“Is it?” Jonghyun asked, and something in his voice made Taemin’s catch in his throat. His jaw hung open as he tried to form words only for his mind to go blank when Jonghyun started playing with the hem of his shirt. “Do you need hyung’s help?”

Taemin swallowed the lump in his throat. “Help with what?” He croaked out, the teasing edge to Jonghyun’s voice traveling below his stomach.

And then they were kissing again, hot, breathless, too close in the stuffy room, but he still wanted more. There was no hesitation when Jonghyun started licking at his mouth, he just opened up and let him explore, too fast for Taemin to keep up. He lifted his hands off the counter to wrap them around Jonghyun’s shoulders, drawing him in that much closer, legs crushed between Jonghyun’s stomach and the cabinets. Normally it’d be uncomfortable but at the moment he just didn’t care.

Taemin couldn’t hold back his gasp when he felt Jonghyun’s palms on his bare back, stroking the skin there and making him feel even hotter, hands too warm on his already burning skin. They kept traveling upwards, dragging his shirt up with them, until it was at his shoulders, slightest breeze hitting the light sweat covering his skin. But Jonghyun didn’t stop there, kept feeling every inch of skin he could reach, sneaking his hands up Taemin’s sides and making him squirm. When Jonghyun bit his lip his back arched and he moaned into his mouth, flushing darker at his own reaction.

“Taemin...” Jonghyun murmured against his lips, voice so dark and thick with need it made Taemin shiver. His tongue wouldn’t stop playing with his and his hands wouldn’t stop touching him, never moving to the front of Taemin’s body and Taemin wasn’t sure if he was grateful or disappointed. He wasn’t sure what he would do if Jonghyun’s fingers brushed past his nipples, or delved too far down his stomach, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it back.

Even though there was nothing in the world that would make Taemin want to stop kissing Jonghyun, not burning down his apartment building was also important, so when the timer went off they pulled apart, still looking into each other’s eyes. Taemin’s own were hooded, he could tell that much, his head fallen back onto the cabinets, chest rising and dropping with each heavy breath he took. Jonghyun was breathing just as hard, and if his lips were that swollen, Taemin could only imagine what his must look like.

“Shit.” Having more sense than Taemin, Jonghyun rushed over to turn the oven off, scrambling to make sure nothing burned. Taemin still couldn’t move. He still couldn’t do anything more than try and catch his breath, staring lazily as Jonghyun finished putting their dinner together.

It took longer than he’d like to admit for Taemin to regain his senses, close his mouth and pull his shirt down, face flushing even darker as he realized he’d been basically shirtless this entire time. His lips were dry from breathing through his mouth and he licked them, not thinking twice until Jonghyun said “Are you torturing me on purpose, Taemin-ah?”

He blushed again and hopped down from the counter, deciding to try and be at least a little helpful and grab their plates. “Sorry, hyung.”

“Don’t be.” Jonghyun said, looking over his shoulder so Taemin could see his smirk. “Just don’t be surprised when I get back at you for it later.”

* * *

Jonghyun’s apartment was smaller like he had said, but it also looked a hell of a lot more stylish. If it wasn’t a completely ridiculous idea, Taemin would’ve thought Jonghyun had gone out and bought new furniture the second he knew Taemin was going to visit. His couch was more like a loveseat but it was made of leather and couldn’t have been cheap to buy, the coffee table was glass but there wasn’t a smudge in sight, and the lightbulbs he’d put in every lamp weren’t garish but somehow covered everything in a warm glow, almost like candles. No cups lying around like in Taemin’s apartment, or food stains on the cushions, or concerning absence of paper towels.

And yet there Jonghyun was, sitting cross legged on the other side of the couch with a bottle of store-bought tea, ripped jeans and oversized sweater a stark contrast to the lavish atmosphere.

“I thought you said my apartment was nicer than yours.” Taemin said, mirroring the way Jonghyun was sitting.

Jonghyun took a sip of his drink before answering. “It said it was _nice_ , I never said it was nic _er._ ”

And that was all he had to say on the matter, focusing on finishing his tea now. But Taemin still had more to say and pouted at him. “I came here expecting a bachelor pad and instead you gave me a penthouse.” Which, he wasn’t actually mad about this, he was just saying it for the sake of complaining. And besides, Jonghyun knew he wasn’t angry anyways, obvious by the glint in his eyes every time they met Taemin’s.

“To be fair, Kibum helped me pick almost everything out.” He set his now empty bottle on a coaster because he was smart and remembered to buy those. “And he knows where to get affordable stuff, like literally anything. It’s also really easy to stick to a color scheme when the color is black.”

Okay that was fair enough, Taemin thought, but it still took him by surprise. And not a bad kind of surprise either, because he really liked the mood the room gave off. He couldn’t think of the exact word to describe it, but it felt like something out of a romance movie. Not that he watches those, if anyone asks.

Taemin couldn’t miss the way Jonghyun was smirking at him when he never stopped staring in the first place. “It’s kind of sexy, right?”

Now Taemin really wished he had said yes when Jonghyun offered him a drink so he’d have an excuse to look away. But instead he was stuck here with his face on fire and someone eagerly waiting for an answer. “Are we still gonna watch a movie?” Taemin asked, choosing the best answer he could think of, which was not answering.

Jonghyun raised one of his eyebrows and reached for the remote to turn his television on. “Did you have something in mind or do you just wanna browse through Netflix?”

Thank god Jonghyun had taken that bait, Taemin thought as he sighed in relief. “Do they have A Quiet Place on there?” This time it wasn’t a deflection, he actually really wanted to see that movie.

“Isn’t that a horror movie?” Jonghyun grimaced as he said it, like the words tasted bitter on his tongue.

But Taemin couldn’t follow and gave Jonghyun the same look back at him. “Yeah?” So what?

“Taemin,” Jonghyun started, placing the remote on the table and shifting closer to Taemin, “I’m over here trying to be romantic, not make you scream _that_ way.”

That was too much for Taemin and he hid his red face in his hands, not capable of handling looking at anything. “Hyung, why…”

“Too strong?” Jonghyun said and Taemin peered up at him through his fingers. Which, it kind of was, but not in a bad way. It just made it extremely difficult for Taemin to ignore the heat in the pit of his stomach.

“No…” Taemin mumbled out, muffled by his hands. His heart wouldn’t stop pounding in his chest and his throat had closed up, but it was the truth. The only problem was that he liked it too much. Not that he’d ever be able to tell Jonghyun that.

“Okay, good to know.” The upwards lilt in Jonghyun’s voice was enough to get Taemin to look at him, and he was met with a smirk that made him hide again. He didn’t know what it meant, but he wondered if Jonghyun had seen through him. He thinks that’d be a good thing. It’d save him from explaining himself.

They ended up watching an old American drama, something Taemin had learned were one of Jonghyun’s favorites. Immediately after pressing “play”, Jonghyun was already grabbing Taemin’s hand, trying to pull him in closer, saying “Sit by me, Taemin-ah!”, like he even needed to ask. Taemin was all too happy to rest his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder, let Jonghyun wrap his arm around his own. He tried to read the subtitles as best he could but his mind was in a daze, too distracted by the warmth Jonghyun radiated, how safe he felt next to him, the repeating motion of Jonghyun’s thumb stroking his skin.

He must have dozed off because when Jonghyun stood up, left his side, it shook him awake. And then he was all too aware of the sudden lack of Jonghyun’s body and it made him feel incomplete.

Just when he was about to ask what was going on, Jonghyun explained himself, “I left the light on in the kitchen and it’s annoying the fuck out of me.” Taemin snorted, already anticipating Jonghyun’s return.

And of course it didn’t take long, he was there and back in less than ten seconds and Taemin could relax back into his earlier spot. Except, Jonghyun didn’t wrap his arm around him this time. His mind kept swimming with different reasons, like maybe his arm was tired, or he thought he smelled bad, or he just forgot, but never let his mind wander to _he doesn’t want to touch me_. The part of himself that constantly told him he wasn’t desirable enough was never around at the same time as Jonghyun because Jonghyun never gave him a reason to doubt himself.

It still would be nice to be touched.

So caught up in his own thoughts, Taemin didn’t even notice Jonghyun was moving, only felt the weight on his thigh. He wasn’t even sure where he was looking anymore, Jonghyun’s hand on him or Jonghyun’s face, but it definitely wasn’t the movie he was supposed to be watching. His breath caught in his throat, because his hand was right there, fingers resting on his inner thigh, and now his mind was cloudy for a completely different reason. Jonghyun was so so close to touching his dick through his jeans and he couldn’t move an inch or else he might touch there for real.

When Jonghyun started rubbing his thumb back and forth Taemin had to hold back a whine, this was all so much for him, being as inexperienced as he was. And there was no way Jonghyun couldn’t feel his eyes boring into the side of his head, pleading for something but not sure what. However it definitely wasn’t for him to take his hand away.

The longer Jonghyun touched him the warmer Taemin felt, feeling his blush rise up his neck to his face to the tip of his ears. Most embarrassing of all, he could feel his pants getting tighter, and his breath getting shallower, and he was getting so worked up by the smallest action but he didn’t want it to stop.

He couldn’t keep still anymore. His hips started moving and he grabbed onto the front of Jonghyun’s shirt, finally getting him to look at him. And he had nothing to say for himself, either, just grinned at him, because he knew exactly what he was doing this whole time. “Hyung.” Taemin said, voice considerably breathier than before.

“What?” Jonghyun asked, like he didn’t already know. He was still smiling, too, and he was just asking Taemin to kiss that smirk off his face.

Which is exactly what he did.

He sucked on Jonghyun’s lower lip before biting it, making Jonghyun grunt and bite him harder. It made Taemin shiver and grow that much more desperate. Taemin’s hand fisted in Jonghyun’s shirt, pulled him in closer, and Jonghyun took no time to catch up. Just threaded his fingers in Taemin’s hair and kissed him back, made his brain short-circuit. Taemin might’ve moaned out loud but what did it matter when Jonghyun’s tongue was in his mouth, and his lips were moving against his, and Taemin’s noises were being swallowed up by Jonghyun.

They only separated for a second but it was a second too long as Taemin was pushed onto his back. And then Jonghyun was taking him again, touching the tips of their tongues together, forcing out a gasp. The position they were in made Taemin’s heart skip a beat because even though he had been on top of him before, this was completely different. This time they were kissing for real, their chests were pressed together, and Jonghyun wouldn’t stop touching him all over. His free hand was stroking up and down Taemin’s side, teasing him by slipping his fingers up his sweater but only ever touching just above his jeans, making him crave more. He kept bucking up into Jonghyun but he was too far away, lower body angled just enough that Taemin couldn’t reach, but he needed it so bad, any kind of friction, any kind of stimulation…

Their foreheads bumped together when Brown Eyed Soul’s “If It’s The Same” filled the room. They both rubbed the sore area as Jonghyun reached across the table, grabbing his phone and holding it up to his face, squinting at the screen. “It’s my sister.” He said.

“Answer it.” Taemin replied and cleared his throat after hearing how hoarse he sounded. He fell back onto the couch as he tried to calm his breathing, one hand resting on his heaving chest. When he closed his eyes, the last five minutes kept replaying in his head, and he didn’t even try to fight the smile sneaking onto his face.

“Noona?” Jonghyun said into the phone, clearing his throat the same way Taemin did. “No, I don’t have a cold.” Taemin had to grab a nearby pillow to stifle his laughter at that. “Well it’s not the _best_ time...no it’s okay, what did you need?” Taemin struggled to try and make out what his sister was saying on the other end of the line, but it just sounded like a jumbled mess to his ears. “Ah, okay. Yeah, I’ll stop by tomorrow. Thanks for keeping me updated, noona. Love you too, bye.” He hung up and placed his phone down on the table again before leaning back onto the couch, letting out a huff of air.

“What was that?” Taemin asked, sitting back up as well now that he was sure their moment was over.

“Huh? Oh, our dog has an eye infection. She just wanted to tell me how her visit to the vet went.” Jonghyun answered, and Taemin couldn’t even be mad when it was something as important as that. Not that he would be mad because Jonghyun’s life doesn’t revolve around him. “I’m really sorry, that was rude of me, wasn’t it?”

Jonghyun was nibbling on his lower lip and his eyes kept falling to the side, and for the first time Taemin felt like he was seeing a more vulnerable side to Jonghyun. Well, other than when he had started crying at a commercial about puppies. “Your sister is important, hyung. Kissing me isn’t.” He grimaced and immediately tried to backtrack. “Wait, that came out wrong.”

But Jonghyun didn’t seem to mind, just laughed, eyes shaping into crescents, voice like ringing bells. “It’s alright, I know what you meant.” He said and Taemin breathed a sigh of relief as Jonghyun grabbed the remote and paused the movie. “I gotta tell you, though, I haven’t been paying attention to this thing the whole time.”

Now it was Taemin’s turn to laugh. “Me neither.”

* * *

“Why don’t you sit down and enjoy the show, Taemin-ah?”

Taemin’s face scrunched up. “I don’t know what else been on those seats so no thank you.”

Jonghyun shrugged at him and turned around, facing the big screen mounted on the wall while Taemin leaned back onto the wall on the opposite end of the room. “ _You know that I love you, can’t you see my eyes…_ ”

He was only two lines into the song and Taemin was already roped in. He completely forgoed looking at the video on screen, which is what he usually did to avoid awkward eye contact, in favor of staring Jonghyun down, trying to communicate his thoughts of “why the fuck didn’t you tell me you could sing” with his eyes. His high notes soared perfectly on pitch, his belting sounded full and effortless, and his low notes went straight between Taemin’s thighs. Now he kind of wishes he had sat down so he could at least cross his legs.

When Jonghyun finished his song, he turned around to hand Taemin the microphone, but Taemin didn’t take it. “You brought me to a noraebang just to show off, didn’t you?” He said, pouting extra hard so Jonghyun would know he was just playing around.

Jonghyun’s smile reached his eyes and he was so cute Taemin almost forgot what they were talking about. “I did, yeah.”

Taemin gasped exaggeratedly with his hand in front of his mouth. “ _My_ Jonghyun? Showing off??” That comment earned him a playful push on his shoulder and he burst into giggles.

“I wanted to hear you sing too, you know.” Jonghyun said, holding the microphone in front of Taemin again, slight redness to his cheeks.

Taemin’s laughter caught in his throat. He agreed to sing karaoke when he thought it was just going to be the two of them screaming out song lyrics with no pitch or rhythm until they got kicked out. He didn’t expect Jonghyun to be _good_ , and now Taemin would pale in comparison, and he wasn’t sure he could handle the embarrassment. “No thanks.”

Jonghyun dropped his hand to his side. “You’re gonna make me sing the whole time?!”

“Sounds good to me.” Taemin tried to smile despite his racing pulse. “Don’t act like you don’t love it.”

“I _don’t_ love it.” It was Jonghyun’s turn to pout at him now, and even though Taemin had no idea what he looked like when he pouted, Jonghyun was still a million times better at it. He looked every bit like a begging puppy and Taemin’s heart might have melted a little. So he took the microphone without a single word and Jonghyun immediately perked up, bouncing over to the seats and sitting down without a second thought.

“You’re seriously sitting on those?” Taemin grimaced as he scrolled through the song list, trying to find something easy to sing. “You know what people do in these rooms, right?” He stage whispered that last part for dramatic effect but the blush creeping onto his face was completely real.

“What, you mean like what we did on your kitchen counter?” Jonghyun said it so casually Taemin had to rip his head away from the song list to gape at him because how could he just _say_ that. All Jonghyun did was smirk and cross his arms across his chest.

“We didn’t even - ” Taemin started but his lungs collapsed before he could finish his sentence. His throat had run dry and no matter how many times he swallowed he still couldn’t say it. The way Jonghyun was looking at him didn’t help, either, just made him blush harder.

“Or on your couch? Or what about my couch the other day?”

“ _Hyung_.” He at least got that word out, and maybe now he could finally say what he wanted. “That’s not the same.” That wasn’t exactly what he was going for but he prayed Jonghyun would understand without him having to explicitly say it.

The way Jonghyun’s smile widened told Taemin he understood but was pretending not to. “If you still think it’s too dirty you can come sit on hyung’s lap.” He said as he patted his thigh and Taemin couldn’t even see the song list anymore, the rest of the world was drowned out by the heartbeat in his ears and the warmth covering his entire body. His palms had become so sweaty that his finger slipped and he chose a song by mistake, cursing under his breath. But when he heard the first few notes, some of the tension left his body when he realized he thankfully already knew this song.

Only for his heart to speed up that much more when he realized what song it was. Jonghyun snorted and hid his mouth behind his fist, but Taemin could still see his eye smile, and he swore he never blushed harder in his life than he was right now.

“ _H-hey you, why are you hesitating_?” Taemin missed the beat he was supposed to come in on and his voice cracked at the end and this whole thing was a fucking disaster. “ _I know you want me…_ ”

Shit, these fucking _lyrics_ , he couldn’t do this. “Hyuuung!” He whined, stomping one of his feet. So what if he was being a brat, he didn’t care, this was too humiliating.

“No, keep singing!” The way he said it sounded supportive enough but the unwavering grin on his face wasn’t. It was the kind that told Taemin he was enjoying this way too much.

Fine, then. Let him enjoy it. “ _I know what you want, what you’re waiting for…_ ”

An idea popped into Taemin’s head at the next line. “ _Just come here…_ ” A way to tease Jonghyun back and hopefully get him a little worked up. It was simple enough, and with his pulse already rushing so fast, he didn’t have to worry about getting more embarrassed. That would be impossible.

He slowly made his way towards Jonghyun as he sang, making his eyes widen in shock. “Taemin, what are you - ” Jonghyun cut himself off when Taemin sat on his lap, straddling him, still singing the song by heart. Taemin didn’t miss how tense he became, or how his hands were balled into fists on the seat cushions, and he couldn’t fight the smile on his face now that he knew he had gotten his revenge. He was the one that suggested that Taemin sit on his lap in the first place, anyways.

Or possibly not, because then Jonghyun was grabbing his hips, pulling him in closer until their bodies were pressed together, and maybe he didn’t think this through well enough. “ _D-don’t hesitate any longer…_ ” His singing stuttered along with his heartbeat and his voice sounded considerably breathier and fuck this song.

“ _As much as you waited, I waited for this day t -_ ” Taemin shouted on reflex before he could finish his line, because now Jonghyun was kissing right under his ear, just the one spot over and over again. And if he had just missed his cue for the next line, Taemin would be none the wiser, too distracted by the soft lips on his skin, the hot breath fanning out on his ear as Jonghyun whispered, “Keep going.”

Taemin had to bite his own lips so he didn’t make a sound at those words, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t make his throat any less dry, mouth like sandpaper. “ _As I wait for you, I close my eyes…_ ” And he really did close his eyes during that line, as Jonghyun started traveling down his neck, his teeth barely brushing his skin, and he breathed “Hyung, I can’t…”

There were no protests from Jonghyun this time, just his hands pressing on the small of his back, and if Taemin had had any sense, he would’ve taken the mic away from his mouth. But instead when Jonghyun finally bit down on his neck, Taemin cried out right into the microphone, and it traveled through the speakers and filled the room. He dropped the mic immediately after that, forgotten on the floor, because no way in hell was he going to do that again. His heart kept hammering in his chest and in his fingertips and everything was so much all at the same time, he couldn’t keep track of it.

“Careful, Taeminnie, someone might hear you.” Jonghyun murmured against his skin and Taemin might have made a noise at that, he couldn’t tell, absentmindedly holding onto the sleeves of Jonghyun’s shirt to keep himself upright. “But you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Shit. Shit shit shit, Taemin for sure whimpered this time, even though he kept biting his lips so hard it hurt. He had to hold onto Jonghyun even tighter now because he couldn’t trust his own legs to support him anymore.

Jonghyun pulled away to look at Taemin now, and he guessed he looked like a hot mess from how heavily he was breathing and how his eyelids kept drooping. Jonghyun didn’t seem to care as he brushed Taemin’s hair away from his face. “Don’t think I don’t notice how needy you get whenever we perform a scene at work.” His expression didn’t match the words he was saying and Taemin couldn’t take it anymore, he couldn’t look Jonghyun in the eye when he said these things and he hid his face in Jonghyun’s shoulder. “What would you do if hyung decided to take you right there in front of everyone?”

Taemin openly let out a sob at that, because there was no use in worrying about embarrassing himself anymore. “Hyung, please…”

He was so worked up, so overwhelmed that Taemin didn’t even notice he was moving his hips against Jonghyun’s until Jonghyun placed his hands on both sides and held him still. Fully prepared to start begging, Taemin leaned back again, and Jonghyun met his eyes as he said, “Not here, Taeminnie.”

Taemin whined and tried grinding against him again, so desperate for any kind of friction that he didn’t care if he was being annoying. Jonghyun made him like this so he can’t just leave Taemin this way. But Jonghyun’s grip stayed firm, and so did his voice when he spoke, “In the car.”

* * *

The time it took for Jonghyun to join Taemin in the back seat was too long for him and Taemin was already pulling Jonghyun in by his coat before he even had a chance to close the door. His laugh was muffled by Taemin covering his mouth with his own, and Taemin couldn’t help but let out a little laugh of his own.

Jonghyun’s car didn’t have working air conditioning but with how heated Taemin’s body was already it made no difference. His breathing had already picked up and his kissing was already sloppy but he needed Jonghyun more than he needed air, his body on top of his, their hips almost close enough but not yet. He kept bucking up into nothing, needing something, anything to help the tightness in his pants so badly he could taste it.

So when Jonghyun finally leaned in that last bit, let Taemin feel Jonghyun’s hardness against his own, Taemin saw white and tilted his head back, moaning out loud. Jonghyun kept sucking on Taemin’s lower lip because god knows he couldn’t close his mouth now, not when Jonghyun was letting him rub their cocks together through their clothes, making his whole body shiver with need.

“Jonghyun hyung…” Taemin sounded as desperate as he felt, needing to feel Jonghyun’s name on his tongue, let him know what he was putting him through.

Jonghyun groaned as he kissed every inch of skin he could reach. “Fuck, keep saying my name.” And now he was meeting Taemin’s thrusts with his own and made everything that much more powerful, Taemin’s cock impossibly hard and still suffocated in his pants. It was so much that Taemin had to clutch onto Jonghyun’s back, trying to keep him right where he was, unable to handle even a second of them being apart.

Taemin was inexperienced and they both knew that, he was relying purely on instinct alone, moaning like breathing, wanting everything and more. But Jonghyun knew what he was doing, knew exactly what to do to make Taemin scream, moan out “Jonghyun hyung!” again, and let his fingers curl under the waistband of Taemin’s jeans, his tongue tracing along Taemin’s jawline. Taemin whimpered when he felt Jonghyun bite his earlobe, swirled his tongue around his piercing, because everything was just so overwhelming and hot and _good_.

When Jonghyun used his hands at Taemin’s back to pull him upwards, bring them that much closer together, Taemin had to be glad that Jonghyun was strong because there was no way he could hold his body up anymore. His legs were shaking and his fingers were holding Jonghyun’s coat so tightly they cramped and he was so fucking hard he couldn’t handle it, could feel the warmth piling in his stomach. His insides twisted and knot together until finally unraveling, taking Taemin with them. “Jonghyun hyung!” He cried out, shallowly thrusting into Jonghyun as he tried to ride out his orgasm, mouth open as he whimpered with each weak thrust. His cock was so oversensitive now his eyes rolled back as his body went limp, completely spent.

As the post-orgasm haze began to clear from Taemin’s head, he started flushing pink as he remembered everything he had just done and that he was still underneath Jonghyun.

Jonghyun, who was looking down at him, eyes dark and lips red and swollen as he cooed, “Aww, did you cum in your pants?”

Taemin had to suck in his lips and squeeze his eyes shut when he nodded, and he couldn’t let Jonghyun’s words get to him when he just cum, couldn’t let Jonghyun know how bad they affected him. He was still gradually coming down from his high and suddenly become uncomfortably aware of the wetness in his boxer briefs.

All Jonghyun did was press a kiss to Taemin’s forehead, not seeming to mind that Taemin had came in his pants like a teenager when Jonghyun wasn’t even that hard. “Don’t worry, baby, hyung will take you home.”

His stubborn side wanted to insist that they stayed where they were, that Taemin could keep going until Jonghyun could cum too, but he knew better than that. His body was exhausted and he could barely even keep himself up, thankful Jonghyun was there to help him.

It still didn’t stop him from wanting, though.

* * *

“Taeminnie’s bed smells like Taeminnie~”

“Hyuuuung…”

“Taeminnie’s pillow smells like Taeminnie~”

Taemin groaned.

“Taeminnie…” Jonghyun paused to leave a quick peck on Taemin’s lips, “...tastes like Taeminnie!”

Taemin had to roll his eyes at that even though his face was heating up from the small kiss. “What else am I supposed to taste like?”

Jonghyun tapped his finger on his chin and stuck his lower lip out, taking extra long to answer to build the anticipation. “Jonghyun?”

This time Taemin couldn’t think of a response, just let his ears burn red and eyes go wide. He started blinking as he kept thinking about it, and Jonghyun probably didn’t even mean it in the way Taemin was thinking of, he probably just meant kissing. But Taemin’s mind kept wandering and his gaze kept lowering…

He flipped onto his other side, away from Jonghyun so he couldn’t look where he was about to. That just made Jonghyun move in closer, propping himself up on one elbow, poking Taemin’s cheek with his finger. “Aww, come on, I don’t taste that bad, do I?” He said, and if Taemin was facing Jonghyun now he would’ve given him a look that said _I’ve been sticking my tongue in your mouth for two months now, if I didn’t like it we wouldn’t be here_.

“Here” was of course Taemin’s bedroom, and this was the first time Jonghyun had been in there and he had to take advantage of every little thing he could tease Taemin about. Holding up the pictures on his desk and asking things that were obvious from the photos, like “You graduated three years ago?” Yes, that’s why the sign in the back said “Class of 2011”. “Did you take ballet lessons when you were little?” No, he was just performing onstage with a bunch of ballerinas because he felt like it? Of course he took ballet.

“Well if it’s that bad then I guess I’m gonna have to go find some gum.” Jonghyun singsonged after Taemin still didn’t answer after at least twenty pokes. When he felt the mattress rise as Jonghyun left Taemin immediately felt sorry and sat up, fully prepared to apologize, but instead ended up shouting “No, don’t!”

He caught Jonghyun with one hand on his nightstand, looking as confused as Taemin was embarrassed, because his heart leapt up to his throat when he saw how close Jonghyun was to the drawer only to realize he was steadying himself as he rose to his feet. “Don’t what?” He asked, head tilted and eyebrows set in a line.

“Nevermind, I just panicked, sorry, you’re fine.” Taemin bit his lip to keep himself from saying anything more he would regret, eyes still fixated on the drawer Jonghyun could open at any second.

Jonghyun followed Taemin’s eyes to the drawer, looked back at Taemin, and back to the drawer again, this time raising an eyebrow. “I wonder what could be in here that Taeminnie doesn’t want me to see…” He said with a teasing lilt in his voice, but it was too dangerous for Taemin to take that chance.

Unfortunately he couldn’t think of a convincing lie either. A thousand different but equally ridiculous excuses swarmed in his head, and his jaw just hung open, no help to him at all. So instead Taemin shoved his face in his pillow, the next best thing he could think to do.

The bed dipped next to him as Jonghyun laid down again, and thank god he hadn’t opened the drawer or Taemin didn’t know _what_ he’d do. His hand started rubbing up and down Taemin’s back, causing to him relax just a tiny bit, trying to let his worries melt away with the gentle gesture. Eventually he felt calm enough to turn over and face Jonghyun again, surprised at how close he was, but pleasantly.

When their eyes met they both began to smile, this moment suddenly so tender Taemin could stay there for a lifetime, only for Jonghyun to ruin it by saying “Hey, if I can guess what’s in there, will you tell me?” Most of the time Jonghyun’s enthusiasm was cute, but right now it was both cute and insufferable.

Despite it all, Taemin couldn’t deny the way his stomach was starting to grow hot at the idea of Jonghyun finding out what was in there. “No.” He still said, mouth running dry and thoughts starting to spiral.

Jonghyun saw right through his act and Taemin wasn’t sure if he was glad or annoyed. “Is it a dildo?”

Taemin had no idea what kind of expression he was making right now, just that his face was so hot he might catch fire. “No, it isn’t.” His heartbeat was starting to quicken and he kept biting the inside of his mouth to try and control himself.

“Condoms?”

“Like I have any use for those?”

“A vibrator?”

Taemin’s blood went cold and his throat became so dry he couldn’t say anything at first, and he must have waited just a second too long to answer because then Jonghyun _knew_. “It is, isn’t it!!”

“It isn’t!!” Taemin insisted, and he couldn’t hear his own voice over his heartbeat in his ears.

“It totally is!!” And Taemin had to shove his face in his pillow again because what was he supposed to do when Jonghyun saw right through him like this. It was so unfair but such a perfect way to lead into something more. But for some reason he just couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

He flinched when Jonghyun started stroking his hair again, body already so sensitive to touch. Just feeling Jonghyun’s fingers in his hair was enough to send wave of pleasure down his spine and he had to fight every instinct to not rub his dick against the mattress.

He was so lost in the sensation that he almost jumped out of his skin when Jonghyun’s voice was right next to his ear. “Have you been thinking of hyung?” He said, voice low and dark and Taemin was so glad his mouth was covered because otherwise he would’ve made a noise. It wasn’t fair that Jonghyun kept looking right into him, saying all the right things and seeing through Taemin’s lies. “I bet I’m even better than the vibe.” That one Taemin couldn’t not react to, heat pooling in his stomach and making him shiver. He wanted to find out if Jonghyun was right.

Jonghyun brushed Taemin’s hair away from his ear, whispering into it “Hyung would fuck you so good, Taemin-ah.” It felt like Taemin had been punched in the stomach when he said that, picturing it all too vividly. Jonghyun, inside of him, stretching him open and fucking him into the mattress. “My cock so deep inside you, making you scream.” He was touching Taemin’s back again, dragging his hand down, lower, lower, making him shudder, until his fingers were playing with the waistband of his jeans. “I’d make you cum so hard, baby.”

Taemin sobbed into the pillow, and he couldn’t breathe anymore, had to lift his head off the pillow to take in gulps of air. “Please.” He begged, legs starting to shake as he kept grinding onto the bed, embarrassed at how shameless he was.

A hand grabbed onto Taemin’s hair, pulled his face to the side. “Taemin-ah.” Was all Jonghyun said before he was kissing him, not hesitating to coax his mouth open and shove his tongue inside, make Taemin moan against his lips. Taemin fully twisted onto his side so he could lift his leg and wrap it around Jonghyun’s, pull him in closer, let him move his hips against his in small circles.

He gasped into Jonghyun’s mouth when he felt his hand grabbing his ass, dragging him in until their bodies were flush together. Jonghyun’s chest, firm against his own, their legs tangled together, their mouths moaning into the other’s.

It almost made Taemin yell in frustration when Jonghyun took his lips away, but instead he just groaned when they were kissing right under his jaw. His lips were so soft and warm it made his mind cloud with arousal. When Jonghyun bit down on his skin, it was such a shock to his system it made him cry out.

Jonghyun sucked on Taemin’s neck and he kept panting needlessly, his grip on Jonghyun’s hair becoming so weak. He wanted to keep Jonghyun where he was, kissing the area Taemin was sure was going to bruise, but his body wasn’t listening, he couldn’t stop rubbing his dick against Jonghyun’s, couldn’t do anything but chase that overwhelming feeling.

When Jonghyun pulled his hips back just a bit, just enough that Taemin couldn’t reach him, Taemin whined and desperately tried to pull him back in, grabbing anything he could. His whines turned into a moan when Jonghyun’s warm hand was cupping his hard-on over his pants, heat of his palm seeping through the layers causing his eyes to roll back. “Do you want hyung to touch you, Taemin-ah?” Jonghyun said, but he was already stroking his cock and Taemin didn’t know how to form words anymore, too far gone, mind too clouded. “Hmm? Baby?” He asked once more when Taemin didn’t answer, and he had to take a breath, had to figure out how to form words again.

“Yes, Jonghyun hyung.” He whispered, voice already hoarse. Jonghyun grinned at him and even when he undid the button on Taemin’s pants Taemin couldn’t stop moving, because he couldn’t handle having nothing right now. He needed to be touched, and he knew he was making things difficult, but his body wouldn’t listen to him.

When Jonghyun dragged his finger underneath his navel he gasped. Just that small brush sent his nerves alight and made his toes curl and he was so close, so close to where he needed it...

Taemin moaned embarrassingly loud as Jonghyun’s hand wrapped around his cock, finally receiving what his whole body craved. The differences between Jonghyun’s hand and his own made the experience entirely new and mind-numbing. Jonghyun’s hand was warm while Taemin was almost always cold, and the length of it could almost fit entirely in Jonghyun’s palm, while Taemin’s small hands didn’t cover nearly as much. He whimpered when Jonghyun brushed his thumb over the slit, spread his precome around the tip, and any idea of him lasting much longer was thrown away.

“Jonghyun hyung…” Taemin groaned out when he started tracing the underside of his cock with one finger before stroking the length of it. His hand was so tight around him and he didn’t even know what kinds of sounds he was making anymore, just that he couldn’t hold them back.

He almost screamed when Jonghyun started biting down on his skin again, right above his collarbones, leaving a mark. His breathing was so loud and his pulse was so fast, and it was almost too much when Jonghyun sped his hand up, made him cry out and shiver so intensely, but he still needed it faster, tighter, more.

Taemin wasn’t sure what gave him away, if it was how desperately he was whimpering over and over, or how he kept thrusting into Jonghyun’s hand with no rhythm. But somehow Jonghyun knew and raised his head to whisper into Taemin’s ear, hot breath making him melt, “Cum for hyung, Taemin-ah.”

With a few quick strokes Taemin’s orgasm hit him, coursing through his body and making him shiver, whining as Jonghyun kept moving his hand to help Taemin ride it out. His eyes shut so tight and his grip had gone loose as he came onto Jonghyun’s hand, so overwhelming he could feel tears in his eyes.

Nothing existed for the few seconds Taemin took to calm down. Only his chest rising and falling with each bated breath he took, Jonghyun pressing kisses onto the bruises he had left there. The haze finally started to clear and he threaded his fingers through Jonghyun’s hair, just wanting to touch him, but it made Jonghyun lift his head up and smile at him. Unfortunately Taemin didn’t have the energy for words, so instead he pressed their lips together, still breathing so heavily it was more tongue and teeth than anything else. But he loved Jonghyun’s kisses no matter how messy, loved how soft his lips felt and how skilled he was with his tongue, loved it when he bit him and made him gasp into his mouth.

“Taemin,” Jonghyun murmured against his lips, noses brushing, hot breath mixing together, “I really need to clean my hand off.”

He froze at that and his face burned for a completely different reason. “Right. Sorry.” Taemin said, starting to shy away because he really did just cover Jonghyun’s hand in his cum, didn’t he.

All Jonghyun did in response was kiss his forehead. “Nothing to be sorry for, baby, I just don’t want to get anything dirty.” And that made way more sense than the worries swarming his head, Jonghyun wasn’t grossed out by him and Taemin was okay.

At least he was until Jonghyun started to lick his hand while maintaining eye contact with him, already feeling his stomach turning again. He tried so hard not to look, not to fantasize about anything because he wasn’t sure he could handle another round right now. “Hyuuung…” He whined, hoping Jonghyun would take the hint. Jonghyun just smirked at him.

“You should know by now that I’m going to take every chance I get to tease you, Taemin-ah.” He said, popping one finger in his mouth and Taemin was going to scream, but instead kept his mouth firmly shut to prevent any unwanted noises from escaping. Just continued trying and failing not to stare at how Jonghyun’s finger disappeared into his mouth, how he would swirl his tongue around as he cleaned it off…

...on second thought, another round might be necessary at this point.

* * *

“What are you reading?” Jonghyun’s cold tone made Taemin gulp, setting his book down with shaky hands.

“I just grabbed what was lying around…” Taemin said, trying to make his ashamed posture look as natural as possible. Head down, eyes drifting to the side, curling into himself.

Jonghyun grabbed the book from Taemin’s lap and flipped it open. “A book about boys kissing, though?” Jonghyun asked, pointing to a page on the book where sure enough, two boys were kissing, actually one of the tamer kisses Taemin had seen.

His eyes darted back and forth and his tongue peeked out to lick his lips. “It seemed interesting…”

And then Jonghyun was lifting his legs, and he was on top of him again, and it was so much less nerve wracking than the first time, but it still made Taemin’s eyes go wide and his heartbeat quicken. “Have you ever been kissed, Taemin-ah?”

He tried not to smile at that line, thinking of the first time he’d heard it. “Not...by a boy, if that’s what you mean…”

Jonghyun’s hand was under his chin again, and they were looking into each other’s eyes, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world despite it being scripted. “Would you like to?”

Taemin didn’t answer that, just nodded his head and closed his eyes, anticipating the fake kiss he had grown so used to. He could even feel Jonghyun’s face getting closer, knew when the switch was going to happen without even looking, any second now…

But then it was a feeling even more familiar to him than a thumb on his lips. It was Jonghyun’s, sucking on his lower lip, and Taemin’s eyes flew open in shock before he started growing warm. Just a few feet away there were three girls watching them kiss without even knowing it, and Taemin’s lower stomach started to twist, and he had to fight so hard not to start moving his hips, already embarrassingly turned on just by one kiss.

When they pulled apart, Jonghyun didn’t immediately go to thank the customers like usual. He stared down at Taemin with hooded eyes, so dark they only contributed to his current situation, and if Jonghyun didn’t pull away soon Taemin might do something stupid that he’d regret.

“T-that’s our scene, hope you enjoyed it!” Jonghyun finally said, stumbling over his words, and Taemin let out a sigh of relief. However, Jonghyun had only solved the problem of the customers. The problem that was currently growing harder in Taemin’s pants, though…

He realized he’d been laying there too long when Jonghyun gave him a look and he blushed, quickly standing up from the couch only for his knees to give out. But Jonghyun was quick and caught him before he fell down, except now that he was in Jonghyun’s arms, Jonghyun wasn’t letting go. They stayed there, frozen, bodies touching and eyes transfixed on the other’s. Taemin wondered if Jonghyun knew the effect he had on him.

Clumsily, Jonghyun let go, rubbing his palms against his thighs. “We should get back to work.” He said, and even though he was right, Taemin wished he was lying. He wished they could find somewhere to be alone so they could take care of this feeling encompassing the two of them, but unfortunately, he had a job to do.

Throughout the rest of his shift, Taemin kept catching Jonghyun staring at him, and it wasn’t his usual infatuated stare. His gaze was dark and hooded, and his eyes kept raking over his body, lingering on certain areas more than others. He knew exactly what Taemin was going through.

And Taemin could tell he planned on doing something about it.

* * *

It came as no surprise to Taemin when Jonghyun asked him to come home with him after work.

It was also no surprise when Taemin was pushed into the wall not even a second after hanging up his winter garments.

And then it only made sense that there were two hands on his hips and a tongue in his mouth, Jonghyun kissing him so desperately it made all the neediness he had felt earlier that day come back with a passion.

Taemin moaned when Jonghyun bit his lower lip and he finally had enough sense to wrap his arms around Jonghyun’s shoulders, pull him in closer when they were already pressed against each other. Let their tongues swirl together and taste what had become so familiar but never dulling over the course of their relationship.

When Jonghyun’s hands started sneaking towards Taemin’s ass he gasped, a little hitched breath that made Jonghyun kiss him harder and grab him so tightly he scrunched his face. He grabbed harder and Taemin whimpered, and when his fingers brushed Taemin’s hole he couldn’t keep kissing him anymore, had to hide his burning red face in the crook of Jonghyun’s neck. Jonghyun kept pressing his fingers into that area and Taemin shivered and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep himself upright much longer.

As if reading his mind, Jonghyun started lifting Taemin up, and he wrapped his legs around Jonghyun’s torso on instinct only for it to send a rush of pleasure down his spine when their cocks met through too many layers of clothing. Taemin threw his head back and hit the wall but didn’t even register the pain. “Jonghyun hyung…” He moaned, eyes hooded and lips probably just as red as Jonghyun’s were right now.

“I’ve got you.” Was Jonghyun’s response and he situated his arms to better carry Taemin, not even minding when Taemin started rubbing his hard-on against his stomach because he was just so fucking needy. He walked into his room and placed Taemin down on the bed, kissing him again now that he had the chance. As Jonghyun climbed on top of him Taemin let his legs fall open so Jonghyun could get in between them, grind against him and make him cry out during their kiss. “Taemin-ah,” Jonghyun said, voice rough and thick, “I have everything we need here.”

He didn’t need Jonghyun to clarify any more. He already knew what that meant and it made his mind swim at the idea, made his toes curl and pants grow even tighter. “Yes, please…” Taemin choked out, already feeling himself starting to leak into his boxer briefs. Jonghyun caught his lips again, slower than the first kiss, but just as filled with desire. It made Taemin hum through his nose, letting himself truly savor the feeling of Jonghyun’s mouth moving against his, his tongue licking along his lips, so soft and perfect. And then, Jonghyun’s fingers underneath his sweater, brushing by the sensitive skin on his sides and making him shy away before reaching his underarms. With a deep breath, Taemin moved his arms so Jonghyun could pull his sweater off, and then they were kissing again. And Taemin didn’t even have to try and push away any worries of Jonghyun noticing how his stomach jutted out or how he had almost no body hair because he knew Jonghyun wouldn’t mind anyways.

As their lips kept moving together, Taemin tightened his hold on Jonghyun’s sweater, tried dragging it up, hands clawing at his back in his efforts. When it was pulled high enough that Taemin could feel bare skin he blushed, trying to subtly feel along the muscles there, warm under his palms. He didn’t get much time to appreciate it before Jonghyun was laughing against his lips, little puffs of air, and sat up so he could take it the rest of the way off.

Jonghyun must have noticed that Taemin was staring because he didn’t lean down to start kissing him right away, just smirked as his cheeks grew redder. “Like what you see?”

“Yes.” Taemin said without thinking, blushing harder and biting his lip at his outburst. It was the truth but it was an embarrassing truth, especially when he was still staring at Jonghyun’s arms, only now noticing that he had multiple tattoos lining both of them. He never even realized he’d never seen Jonghyun without long sleeves on until this moment. There was also the tattoo underneath his pecs and one barely peeking out from his pants, circling around his hipbone, and how on earth did he end up with someone so hot.

And of course there was trail of hair on his defined stomach that disappeared under his jeans and led straight to the bulge in his pants.

“Fuck.” Taemin breathed, and he couldn’t keep looking, he had to drop his head back on the pillow or else he might go mad just knowing that he’d get to touch every inch of that body. Suddenly his mouth was watering and he really hoped Jonghyun wouldn’t notice how often he was swallowing.

But no, Jonghyun had to make him look again. “Baby?” He said, and Taemin lifted his head only to drop it again when his back arched as Jonghyun placed his hand on Taemin’s cock. He hissed through his teeth and tried so hard not to buck up into Jonghyun’s palm but fuck it felt so nice. He gently massaged him through his jeans and Taemin raised his fist to his mouth so he could bite on it.

Taemin almost whined when Jonghyun took his hand away but only heard his heart beating in anticipation when Jonghyun started undoing his jeans, relieved to finally free his cock from its stifling confines. He was so lost in the sensation of everything that he didn’t even think to lift his hips until Jonghyun said “Up.”, letting Jonghyun take everything off and now Taemin was all too aware of how naked he was.

He brought his legs together and bent his knees, hiding himself on reflex because no one had ever seen him like this before. He didn’t even think about how that must have come across as until Jonghyun said “Are you just being shy or do you want me to stop?”

“Please don’t stop.” Taemin begged, dragging out the first word because it just perfectly described how he was feeling right now. Jonghyun took that answer and wrapped two hands around Taemin’s thighs and pulled them apart, immediately ducking his head in between them. There were a few seconds of nothing but Taemin’s pulse rushing madly before Jonghyun was licking up the length of Taemin’s cock, and he let out a choked moan and felt his legs shake in Jonghyun’s hands.

Jonghyun wrapped his lips around the tip and circled it with his tongue, moaning at the taste of his precome and Taemin couldn’t hold back any of his sounds any more. Even with his fist muffling his voice he was still so loud, but how could he not be when Jonghyun’s mouth was so wet and hot around him, taking him in and making his back arch. He pressed a kiss at the base and murmured “Your cock is so fucking cute, baby,” on his skin and Taemin was going to cum too soon if he kept this up.

“Hyung…” He whined, breathless, chest heaving when Jonghyun looked up at him from between his legs. “I can’t…” Taemin trailed off at the end, words impossible when he was this far gone, mind in a haze.

“Can’t what, Taemin-ah?” Jonghyun asked, raising onto his knees.

Taemin let out a small noise. “I don’t want to cum yet.” He said the words in a rush, still into his hand, and he hoped Jonghyun heard him because he didn’t want to say it again.

“Ohh.” Jonghyun said, climbing on top of Taemin again to press his lips under his jawline. “Do you want hyung to fuck you now, baby?”

“ _Please_.” Taemin sobbed out, so desperate he could taste it, could feel it burning between his legs. Jonghyun left a few more kisses before leaning back again, reaching behind Taemin to open the small cabinet on his bed frame, pulling out a bottle Taemin didn’t have to read to know what it was.

He flipped the cap open and poured some of the lube onto his fingers, maybe even a little too much, and set it out of the way so he could kiss Taemin’s neck. Taemin whimpered when he felt Jonghyun’s finger brush his hole, purposefully teasing him, before slipping in to the first knuckle and making him moan. It already felt different, with Jonghyun’s finger being thicker and longer as it kept going deeper and deeper inside him, and Jonghyun kept taking it slow when Taemin would always go as fast as he could handle from the beginning. Patience was not his strong suit.

Jonghyun thrust his finger in and out and Taemin’s mouth opened in a silent groan, just loving the feeling and knowing that this was happening. He let out a choked moan when Jonghyun inserted a second finger, already starting to feel the stretch. He dug his nails into Jonghyun’s shoulder, hoping he wasn’t hurting him but also unable to grab any weaker. When the third finger joined Taemin was whimpering again, the fourth made him start moving his hips and whispering “Please, Jonghyun hyung, please…” ready to be filled and fucked and satisfied.

With one last kiss to Taemin’s neck Jonghyun removed his fingers and Taemin whined at the loss despite knowing there was still something better to come. Without Jonghyun on top of him Taemin became aware of how naked he was again, but those thoughts were quickly thrown out when Taemin saw Jonghyun undoing his belt. His throat went dry as he watched Jonghyun’s fingers work, and he was staring again and Jonghyun was probably smirking again but Taemin couldn’t look away. Jonghyun pulled his pants down and off but left his boxers on and Taemin must’ve made a face at that because then Jonghyun was saying “You’re just a little pervert, aren’t you?”

That was so similar to something Taemin wanted to be called that it made his face burn. “No, I’m not.” He couldn’t look Jonghyun in the eye when he said it and that probably made it obvious that he was lying but Jonghyun didn’t seem to notice.

Instead he just shrugged, smirk on his face betraying his actions, and climbed on top of Taemin again, pressing their dicks together. “You’ll have plenty of time to look later, but right now it’s kind of embarrassing for me to strip while you’re looking at me like you want to eat me alive.”

Taemin blushed again and brought his hand up to the side of Jonghyun’s face, brushing away some of the hair that was starting to stick to his forehead. “Sorry, hyung.”

Jonghyun leaned into Taemin’s hand before turning his head to give his palm a kiss. “It’s not a bad thing, Taemin-ah, it’s actually really sexy.” He said and Taemin blushed even harder and wished he could hide his face, but that’d come across the wrong way. “It’s your first time but it’s been awhile for me too, that’s all.”

That made Taemin smile, knowing that he wasn’t doing something wrong. “Okay.”

Jonghyun pressed their smiles together and Taemin hadn’t felt more ready for this in his whole life. He focused on moving his lips against Jonghyun’s, kissing him back, and made a noise into Jonghyun’s mouth when he felt something prodding at his entrance. “Deep breaths, baby.” Jonghyun said as he started pushing in and Taemin’s eyebrows furrowed, already feeling the stretch. Obviously Jonghyun was going to be bigger than both of their fingers, but he was bigger than Taemin’s vibrator too and he was already starting to doubt himself.

But he did as Jonghyun said, taking deep breaths, in and out. He could tell he was still scrunching his face, and he was still holding back sounds at feeling so impossibly full, but he wasn’t in pain. Jonghyun started kissing him all over, on his cheeks, along his jawline, distracting him, so when he felt Jonghyun bottom out, he was surprised at how relaxed he still was. They stayed like that, Jonghyun fully sheathed inside him, and shared each other’s air, looking into each other’s eyes. And it didn’t feel awkward for Taemin to do that, either, it just felt natural.

“I’m going to start moving now, okay?” Jonghyun said, almost whispering, like he was afraid of wrecking the moment. Taemin nodded and kept breathing, felt him pull out and thrust back in, making him whimper at the jolt of pleasure it sent through him. He started a rhythm like that, maybe a little too slow, but just enough to make Taemin just as needy as he was before.

“Jonghyun hyung…” Taemin moaned, head dropping onto the pillow, more satisfied than he’d ever been on his own. It wasn’t just that Jonghyun was bigger and went deeper into him, it was also having Jonghyun’s warmth on him, his mouth on his skin, him holding his hands. It was so much more than getting off. And when Jonghyun lifted their hands to his lips and kissed his knuckles, Taemin wanted to say something else, but instead all that came out was “You can go faster.”

It made Jonghyun laugh against his hand, small puffs of air, and Taemin face grew hotter at his outburst. But then Jonghyun straightened his arms out, pinned Taemin’s hands onto the bed, and Taemin’s dick throbbed. And Jonghyun sped up, fucking Taemin harder and faster, enough to make Taemin’s back curve and a whimper escape from his lips. He lifted his quivering legs and wrapped them around Jonghyun’s waist, pulling him in, wanting more and more. Jonghyun was groaning now and Taemin swore no other sound could compare, knowing that he was making Jonghyun feel so good made his heart soar.

When Jonghyun started kissing him again Taemin couldn’t keep up, just kept moaning into Jonghyun’s open mouth, played with his tongue. Jonghyun let his hands go so he wrapped them around his shoulders, deepening the kiss and probably digging his nails in too much judging by the way Jonghyun grunted. But then Jonghyun’s hands were on his hips again, lifting them up and using them as leverage, making Taemin let out a noise of surprise. And that new angle had Taemin seeing white, squeezing his eyes so tightly closed, Jonghyun hitting so deep inside him. “Fuck, Taemin-ah…” Jonghyun groaned against his lips, making Taemin’s whole body shiver, voice so breathless and rough and saying his name.

Taemin cried out when Jonghyun wrapped his hand around his cock and he knew he wouldn’t be able to last long like this, breaths wracking his whole body and thighs shaking so badly. He stroked the length of it, so slow compared to his thrusts, and Taemin needed more than that, it was just teasing. He started thrusting into Jonghyun’s hand, trying to get him to go faster but he didn’t, just changed technique, keeping his hand still and letting his fingers do all the work. Jonghyun’s thumb started stroking under the head of his dick and his index finger was swiping over the slit and it was so much for Taemin, he couldn’t, he couldn’t hold it back…

“Hyung!” He cried out, cumming all over his stomach and Jonghyun’s hand, hips bucking up and limbs gone weak. “Please, hyung…” Taemin didn’t know what he was asking for anymore, didn’t know what he was saying, trying so hard to catch his breath, still thrusting into Jonghyun’s hand. His body kept shaking with aftershocks, so spent and satisfied, mind in a post-orgasm haze.

Even through the haze, he could still feel Jonghyun starting to pull out, and he quickly wrapped one leg around Jonghyun’s back again, not sure he’d be able to handle both. Jonghyun titled his head at him, probably too turned on and breathless to really say anything, so Taemin had to answer his silent question. “Cum inside me, hyung.”

Jonghyun cursed under his breath and Taemin flushed again despite just coming down from his high, but Jonghyun wasn’t going to say no to that. He immediately picked up at the same pace from before, making Taemin cry out from how overstimulated he was, but he loved it, he loved the feeling of being so sensitive he wanted to scream. Jonghyun was breathing so hard and grunting from exertion, barely audible over Taemin’s touched-out whimpers.

His movements and kisses turned sloppy and Taemin knew he was going to cum soon, biting onto Taemin’s neck as he started losing control. His grip on Taemin’s hips turned almost painful and he started actually dragging Taemin onto him as he fucked him, that much deeper and harder into him. It was so much that Taemin was grabbing onto Jonghyun’s hair and biting his lip as he tried to hold his noises back, so hard it almost hurt.

With a drawn-out moan, Jonghyun was filling him with cum, shallowly thrusting into him and breathing hot air against his neck. Taemin was still whimpering with each thrust but he wished he wasn’t, wanted to hear every sound Jonghyun made as he was pushed over the edge. His thrusts got slower and slower as he kept riding out his orgasm until they stopped, cock still halfway inside Taemin.

Jonghyun looked up at him with hooded eyes, expression matching Taemin’s, and kissed his already bitten raw lips as he pulled all the way out, making Taemin whimper one last time as he felt his cum dripping out of him.

They lost themselves in the kiss again, neither sure how much time passed before they separated, and Taemin thought his lips might be bruised like the rest of his body at this point. “I can help you wash.” Jonghyun said, seemingly from miles away. Jonghyun’s voice was soft but his actions were softer, brushing Taemin’s hair away from his face and threading his fingers through the strands.

Taemin gave him a shy smile. “Thank you, Jonghyun hyung.”

Jonghyun carried Taemin to the bathroom because “your legs were shaking so much I don’t trust you to stand anymore”, “yeah that’s totally it, hyung.” He sat Taemin on the ledge while he drew the bath before easing himself into it and helping Taemin down, holding him steady by his hips.

And somehow this moment of Jonghyun washing his hair, humming a tune Taemin’s didn’t even recognize, and peppering kisses onto his back, was Taemin’s favorite part of it all.


	6. Valentine's Day

“I don’t think white really suits me, Taemin-ah.”

Taemin had to wholeheartedly disagree because “Everything suits you, hyung.” He rose up from the dressing room bench to stand behind Jonghyun, helping him fix his collar as an excuse to touch him.

“Why’s that?” Jonghyun asked and Taemin met his eyes in the mirror. His lips quirked at the edges, so Taemin knew he was trying to mess with him, or get Taemin to stroke his ego. Taemin honestly didn’t know the difference with him anymore.

But he also liked complimenting his boyfriend, so. “Because you’re handsome.” He said, forcing the smile that threatened to pull at his mouth away. It seemed like Jonghyun was having a hard time controlling his face, too, but he was powerless against the light blush that covered his cheeks.

“Anything else?” Jonghyun turned to face Taemin and he stared back at him with wide eyes, because Taemin hadn’t realized how closely they were standing together and now his face was right _there_.

“Um…” Taemin mumbled and took a step back. It wasn’t that he didn’t like being near Jonghyun, quite the opposite, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hold himself back if things kept progressing like this. “Cute?” He tried, trying to diffuse the situation for his own sake.

Jonghyun just took a step closer and placed his hands in his trouser pockets. “What about sexy? Do you think hyung is sexy?”

Taemin’s cheeks burned and he couldn’t find a safe place to look, because Jonghyun’s face was right in front of him and he was biting his lip and looking up at him with his deep eyes. But any lower and Taemin would be looking at the suit Jonghyun hadn’t bothered to button up all the way. So he closed his eyes instead. “Of course…”

“Hmm? What was that?” Jonghyun said and Taemin opened his eyes now, saw Jonghyun cupping his own ear with one hand. “I didn’t quite catch you there, Taeminnie.”

“Hyuuung…” Taemin whined as he pouted, deciding to take matters into his own hands and button Jonghyun’s shirt himself, making Jonghyun let out a breathy laugh. It was just so he wouldn’t have to keep looking at his exposed collarbones and chest mole...

But he could still feel Jonghyun’s smirk even when he wasn’t looking, too obvious by the way it made the hairs on Taemin’s neck stand up. “Say it for hyung, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun said, and Taemin wasn’t sure if his voice had gotten rougher or if it was just him. He gave Taemin a pout of his own, which was completely unfair if you asked Taemin.

So unfair that Taemin couldn’t _not_ give into it and finally relented. “You’re sexy, hyung.” If they weren’t in a public place Taemin would be hiding in Jonghyun’s shoulder by now, but they were so Taemin had nowhere to run, had to just let his body heat up and burn red hot.

“Can you help this sexy hyung with his tie, then?” Jonghyun was holding both ends of his undone tie in his hands, nibbling his lower lip, and Taemin sighed. Thank god he had learned how to tie a tie years ago, thanks to his parents making him attend church every Sunday. Otherwise he’d just have to keep standing here with his jaw hanging open and desire tickling under his fingertips. He replaced Jonghyun’s hands with his own and got to work, moving by muscle memory.

Again, Jonghyun was way too obviously staring at him, and knowing that he was being watched made Taemin clumsy. His fingers slipped two times and he pulled too tight at one point, making Jonghyun splutter and Taemin apologize under his breath. But he had still done it, he could pull back and admire his work, however Jonghyun was still looking at him. Not even at the tie he had just done, but at him. Taemin wrapped his hands around Jonghyun’s shoulders and turned him around, anything to get him to stop making Taemin crave his touch. “Thank you, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun singsonged as he studied his reflection, tweaking his outfit here and there to make it look perfect.

“I like this one best so far.” Taemin said as he tried not to think about the prices. He already promised himself he wouldn’t look until after they chose one so that his judgement wouldn’t be biased towards the cheaper suits.

“Really?” Jonghyun made a face at his reflection, tilting his head to the side. “I mean, I’ll wear it if that’s what you want since it’s your money.”

Taemin sighed and pursed his lips. He had told Jonghyun beforehand that they were shopping for _him_ , not Taemin, and to be truthful about what he did and didn’t like. It may be Taemin’s money, but it was still Jonghyun’s outfit.

Besides, he was the one that came up with the idea of wearing suits at work for Valentine’s Day anyways. Jinki had called everyone together to brainstorm ideas, saying themed cafes like theirs often held special events for certain holidays, but this was their first time trying it out. Initially it seemed like a great plan, as they thought everyone already owned a suit, only to find out Jonghyun didn’t. He didn’t have the money for it either, so after a lot of persuasion, Taemin was able to convince Jonghyun to let him take care of the cost.

But now Jonghyun was trying to shift the decision making onto Taemin, the exact opposite of what he wanted. Taemin was just here to pay, not choose for him. “There’s still one left, let’s see what that looks like first.” Taemin said, making a mental note not to say anything this time that might affect Jonghyun’s judgement.

Five minutes later and Taemin had to throw that note out.

The white suit was pretty, but this deep blue suit with the plaid vest was something else entirely. It fit him a little too well, accentuating his small waist and broad shoulders and hugging his thighs. The color looked beautiful against his dark skin, and the plaid design on the jacket was subtle enough to not look tacky. And after only seeing Jonghyun in work, casual, or no clothes, the mood that emanated off of him was completely new to Taemin; he was elegant, confident, and somehow more beautiful than before.

And that was all a really long way of saying that Taemin was getting hard right now. “Definitely go with the white suit.”

Jonghyun blinked at him, pulling his eyebrows together. “What? Why? I really like this one, actually.” He said, striding in front of the mirror again and twisting around to see himself from the back.

Taemin was staring way too long and looked up at the ceiling in an attempt to clear his thoughts, to try and think of anything but Jonghyun’s body. “You just can’t wear it.” Taemin couldn’t come up with a better explanation than that and hoped that Jonghyun would fill in the blanks himself and reach his own conclusion.

“I’m wearing it right now, though?” Jonghyun’s smirk was clear in his voice and Taemin dropped his head to glare at him. But somehow, despite Taemin trying to look upset, Jonghyun’s face lit up with recognition and Taemin’s heart dropped to his stomach. “Oh, you like it too, don’t you?”

“I never said that.” Taemin replied, crossing his arms, stubborn as ever. In his battle to not look at Jonghyun Taemin happened to catch his own face in the mirror for a split second and saw how pink his face was, tip of his ears glowing red. No wonder Jonghyun knew what Taemin was actually thinking about. “I just meant you can’t wear it at work.”

“Why’s that?” Jonghyun approached Taemin again, lips still turned at the corners and eyes still seeing right through him, making Taemin’s reply catch in his throat. “Would it turn you on too much?”

Taemin could feel his face burning now as well as the warmth growing between his legs but still insisted on lying despite everything. “No, it wouldn’t.” Something about how the air sat after Taemin said that just confirmed that once again Jonghyun wasn’t buying Taemin’s lies.

So rather than standing there and letting the stiff air cover his skin, nipping against the cold sweat on his neck, Taemin grabbed onto Jonghyun’s tie, maybe a little too hard, judging by the surprised noise Jonghyun made, and began tying it once again. And of course Jonghyun was still watching him, he could tell by the way his hair stood on end, but that was nothing compared to what he felt when two hands found their way onto his hips. His fingers froze mid-knot and he looked up at Jonghyun, into his deep brown eyes that saw right into him, always made him blush, and his mouth went dry.

“ _Hyung_.” Taemin said, tensing up as he fought every instinct to not melt into the touch, to not hold Jonghyun’s face in his hands kiss him until he couldn’t think of anything else. “We’re in _public_.”

To be fair, they were the only ones in the dressing rooms at the moment, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t walk in at any moment. The woman that had greeted them when they entered was eyeing them the entire time, and all Taemin wanted was to hold Jonghyun’s hand but that would’ve made everything a million times worse. She was also not at all subtle as she spied on them while they browsed through the store. Neither of them could think of an excuse as to why they were shopping together so they both ignored her looks as best they could and barely talked to each other.

Taemin could still feel her eyes prickling under his skin. “Right, sorry.” Jonghyun quickly dropped his hands to his sides, balled into fists, looking around the room now and sucking on his lips. And even though Taemin knew he had to say that, he still wished he didn’t have to be afraid of touching his boyfriend anywhere at all.

“Done.” Taemin stepped back so Jonghyun could turn towards the mirror and look for himself.

From Taemin’s point of view this suit made all the others pale in comparison, and he knew that Jonghyun felt the same as he checked himself out from every angle. And somehow, watching Jonghyun excitedly look over his outfit in the mirror was enough to lift the depressing mood that had suddenly fallen over Taemin. So it was no surprise when Jonghyun faced him with light in his eyes as he said “I want this one.”

And despite knowing how screwed he’d be on Valentines, Taemin thought it’d be worth it if Jonghyun just stayed this happy always.

* * *

There was already a line of girls waiting outside before they even opened the cafe. For the past week they had been advertising the special event, giving every customer a flier that Kibum and Minho had designed together. But it was obvious none of them were expecting this kind of turnout by the way they were all standing in a circle instead of opening the door, looking at the ground or their hands or anything that wasn’t each other.

Jinki suddenly cleared his throat and successfully gathered everyone’s attention. “We’re not going to leave anyone behind today. Don’t hesitate to grab me if things get too overwhelming, I’ll cover for you.” Jinki said, and all Taemin could think was that Jinki is too nice for his own good.

“We’ll _all_ cover for you.” Minho suddenly piped up, giving Jinki a pointed look.

Taemin never doubted anyone else, only himself, so hearing that helped him breathe again, even though it was such a small thing. But then even Jinki was frozen in place, despite being the one who said he could handle it, leaning against a table with his gaze locked on the door. They were probably a minute past opening already. Finally Kibum strided over to the door and Taemin wanted to let out a sigh of relief but also hold it in for the stampede that was about to enter at any second.

It wasn’t at all what he expected, though. The girls all calmly entered the building one by one, thanking Kibum as he held the door open for them. Minho led the first group of girls to a table, followed by Jonghyun, then Jinki, and before Taemin’s thoughts could catch up there were already three girls waiting for him, looking at him expectantly with rosy cheeks. Thankfully Taemin only stumbled once while approaching them and then he was on auto-pilot, saying the greeting he had memorized weeks ago and threading through the layout that had become so familiar over the past two and a half months.

And then it was just like any other day, if not a little louder and more crowded. Not too many girls requested scenes due to how busy it was, which Taemin was immensely grateful for. Even three minutes of not having all five of them would be too many.

At least it wasn’t his problem this time around. “We’d like a scene with you and Jonghyun oppa, please.” The girl said before her friend nudged her in the arm, both of them giggling at each other.

“Alright, well we have our usual scenes as always,” Taemin said as he pointed them out on the menu, “and we also have two scenes that are unique to today’s event.” He showed them the flier and waited as they read through the list.

Once the girls had picked Taemin stumbled through the crowds to find Jonghyun, almost bumping into Minho and falling onto a customer at one point. “Hyung, we’re on.” Taemin pulled on Jonghyun’s sleeve and tried to make sure his voice was loud enough to be heard over the endless chatter.

“Right.” Jonghyun sighed and made his way towards the kitchen to pick up their prop as Taemin walked back to the table. He was still talking things over with the girls when Jonghyun showed up, mini cupcake in hand.

“Here is the dessert you requested, sir.” Jonghyun said, one arm behind his back while the other was outstretched to Taemin.

“Thank you, that will be all.” Taemin recited, fighting a smile at Jonghyun’s formal speech and manner despite the treat being bright pink and covered in sprinkles. He quickly took a bite and ignored every instinct telling him to lick off the icing he had purposefully placed on his upper lip.

Jonghyun hesitantly reached out for Taemin once he finished, purposefully stuttering when he said “M-master Taemin, you have...um…”

“I have what?” Taemin tilted his head and furrowed his brow.

“...a bit of frosting on your lip, sir.”

Taemin paused as though he was just realizing it. “Ah, so I do.” It was safe for him to smile now so he did, leaning in towards Jonghyun with his whole body. “Clean it off for me?”

Rather an answering immediately, Jonghyun faltered, gnawing on his lower lip. And then he was caressing the side of Taemin’s face, so gentle it made Taemin’s heart flutter while his hand spread warmth across Taemin’s skin. Jonghyun turned him away from the customers and leaned in, Taemin’s eyes shut tight as he waited for something on his lips.

Soft lips made Taemin melt, and he almost made a noise as Jonghyun’s tongue swiped across his top lip, licking the frosting off, but he held back. He hadn’t noticed it before but Jonghyun had put cologne on, and now that they were this close together, he couldn’t get enough of it. His hands kept twitching, aching to hold onto Jonghyun and pull him in closer, to breathe him in until he filled his lungs. But instead he was stuck digging his fingers into the chair he sat in, crushing them under his thighs so he wouldn’t do anything he’d regret.

When Jonghyun pulled away Taemin was all too aware of how hot he felt and how tight his pants were. Jonghyun just thanked the customers like normal, like what they had done had no effect on him, while Taemin was glued to the chair, heart beating against his chest and between his legs.

But his fear of being awkward in public was also pretty strong and it was enough to get Taemin out of his seat and help the girls finish their order. He hoped to god no one could see his boner because there’d be no going back from that, he’d never be able to show his face again.

Twenty minutes later and at least his dick went down, even if he was still having trouble concentrating. Luckily it was starting to reach that beautiful time of day when less and less customers were coming in and Taemin didn’t have to worry nearly as much about fucking up and inconveniencing literally everyone on the busiest day he had ever experienced. Small mistakes he was bound to make no longer carried the same weight as they would have and it lifted the weight off Taemin’s shoulders as well.

“Min-ah, can you get me the cart please? There’s no way I can carry all this on my own.” Kibum said, a few steps away from Taemin and already holding a concerning amount of plates in his hands.

“Yes sir.” Minho replied and everyone near them froze. Did he really just say what Taemin thinks he just said? They weren’t even doing a scene so that couldn’t be an explanation. “I mean hyung.” His voice was wavering and Taemin really needed to not laugh right now. “I mean Bummie!” He squeaked at the end and ran off, tripping over his own feet, and Taemin had to laugh now that he was out of earshot. Kibum caught his eye and Taemin feared that he was angry, but instead he just winked at him.

Another twenty minutes later, Jonghyun spanked Taemin as he was leaning down to clean a table, and his third thought was that he probably deserved that. The first one was holy shit and the second one was holy _shit_. He was one hundred percent sure his glare didn’t have the effect he wanted it to because he could tell he was blushing furiously and Jonghyun just smirked at him. Thank god they were closing in a half hour because Taemin was hard again and he’d sooner stick his hand in molten lava than let his coworkers see his boner.

As they all finally went about their closing routines, made longer due to the entire cafe being messier, Taemin slid in next to Jonghyun, hips touching. The constant teasing throughout the day had left him on edge and craving more, to pull Jonghyun into him and kiss him breathless. And now that he finally had the chance to do something about it, there was no way Taemin would let it pass without at least trying. “Hyung, do you have any plans after work?” Taemin asked, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he watched the muscles in Jonghyun’s forearms flex as he wiped down the table. Something as simple as Jonghyun rolling his sleeves up to his elbows should not be as hot as it was.

Jonghyun hummed for a bit before answering. “Well, I was hoping to spend some time with my wonderful boyfriend.” He turned his head and flashed Taemin a smile, making his heart stutter in his chest.

“Wanna go back to my place?” Taemin dug his nails into his sweaty palms as he waited for a response. It wasn’t the first time Taemin had asked this, but it was the only time he had asked with the explicit intention of having sex, and that was more than enough to set Taemin’s nerves alight.

“Definitely.” Jonghyun said, simple as that, no idea what was going on in Taemin’s head. He let out a sigh of relief before heading off to finish his own cleaning duties, only to be stopped when Jonghyun’s hand caught his wrist and his eyes caught Taemin’s. He straightened himself out so he could reach Taemin’s ear, let his lips brush against it when he whispered, hot breath making Taemin shiver,

“Hyung can hardly wait.”

* * *

Thank god he hadn’t left any dirty laundry on his bed for once, Taemin thought when Jonghyun pushed him onto the mattress and crushed their lips together. They were already pressed together, pent up neediness finally being released, hands touching anywhere they could reach and hips bucking into each other’s. Every time Jonghyun thrusted into him it sent jolts of pleasure through Taemin until he couldn’t keep quiet anymore, couldn’t stop moaning into his mouth. “Jonghyun hyung…”

“Taemin-ah…” Jonghyun matched the breathiness in Taemin’s voice, kissing him between each word, “you looked so good today, baby, you have no idea how hard it was to keep my hands off of you.”

Taemin almost laughed at loud at that, because that should be his line, not Jonghyun’s. He was just wearing an old suit from his church days. “Look who’s talking.”

And Jonghyun did laugh at that, soft puffs of air against Taemin’s lips. “You wanted hyung, huh?”

“Yes, so much.” Taemin’s fingers tangled in the back of Jonghyun’s hair, just to touch him, just another something to try and show Jonghyun how seriously he had affected him today. Jonghyun started kissing down his chin and Taemin tried catching his breath now that his mouth was free, but every press of Jonghyun’s lips on his skin made it catch in his throat, harsh, shallow gasps.

“You wanted my cock inside you that badly? Wanted hyung to fuck you until you couldn’t remember your own name?” Jonghyun murmured and Taemin’s back arched, toes curling into the sheets as he choked out a moan. That wouldn’t be hard to do, Taemin couldn’t even think straight anymore, body too hot, too suffocated in his own clothing.

His hands were shaking as he grabbed for his own tie, hooked his finger around the top and pulled, finally freeing himself just that small bit. Jonghyun must have noticed because then he was leaning back, catching Taemin just before he threw his tie onto the floor, smirk on his swollen lips. Taemin felt the blood rush to his ears from Jonghyun’s look, dark hooded eyes raking down his body as he licked his lips. “Strip for hyung, Taemin-ah” He said, catching his bottom lip between his teeth.

Taemin felt his cock twitch in his pants. “O-okay…” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat but what did matter when his heart was pounding in his ears like this, when his face felt so hot he could faint. His trembling fingers started undoing his first button, moving by muscle memory. This was something he had done a million times before but never had he had someone watching him like this, following his hands and staring at every inch of exposed skin. It made his movements clumsy and he kept slipping up but Jonghyun didn’t seem to mind, just let his eyes dig holes into Taemin’s skin, making him feel naked already.

When Taemin finally undid the last button Jonghyun’s lips were on his again, coaxing his mouth open with his tongue and brushing them together. His hands slid underneath Taemin’s shirt and started pushing it off, fingers ghosting across his shoulders and down his arms, making him shiver. It lay beneath Taemin now and his bare chest was against Jonghyun’s clothed one, the rough fabric brushing against his nipples and making him squirm.

Taemin’s heart stuttered when he felt Jonghyun begin to undo his own tie, wishing he could look for himself but too preoccupied by Jonghyun’s tongue in his mouth. The visual alone was enough to make him moan, slightly embarrassed by the effect it had on him but too desperate to care.

But then Jonghyun was leaning back again and Taemin looked up at him through his eyelashes, blood rushing between his legs when he caught Jonghyun pulling his own tie off. He watched the veins in his hand as he dragged it off, and something in Taemin’s face must have shown Jonghyun too much, showed him exactly what he had just done to him. Then he was grinning at him, the one Taemin knew said he was enjoying himself far too much.

Before Taemin even had enough time to process it his wrists were in Jonghyun’s hand and being lifted above his head, forcing a surprised noise out of him. And then there was soft fabric brushing his skin, tightening around him, and his eyes went wide when he realized what Jonghyun had done. “You tied me up.” He said, incredulously, a statement instead of a question.

“Is that a problem?” Jonghyun replied, lilt in his voice, like he was just so proud of himself right now. Taemin tried moving his arms but they were tied around the headboard, and he had to bite his lips to hold back a whimper. This was only something he had mentioned once when he had a little too much to drink, and now Jonghyun had actually done it and it was too much for him, too much for him to not start bucking up into Jonghyun again, become a million times more desperate, because this was actually happening. “I’m going to take that as a ‘no’.”

“ _Hyung_.” Taemin whined, because Jonghyun was talking and not touching him, not fucking him senseless, and he needed everything and needed it _now_. Every time Taemin rolled his body he received just the slightest bit of friction on his dick, making him moan, eyes rolling back and mouth permanently opened.

He nearly screamed when Jonghyun held his hips down, so desperate he could taste it. It was even worse when Jonghyun climbed off the bed, leaving Taemin with nothing but the air to grind into. “Jonghyun hyuuuung.” He sobbed out, hips still moving in circles despite there being nothing to give him any release. It was just impossible for him to keep still right now, more filled with need than he had ever been in his life.

Taemin’s vision was blurry when he turned his head to watch Jonghyun rummage through his nightstand drawer, not registering the danger until it was too late. It was obvious from the smile on Jonghyun’s face that he had found what he wanted, and when he pulled out Taemin’s vibrator for him to see, Taemin’s throat closed up. “Purple, Taemin? Really?”

His face was burning red hot. “They’re made for girls, what did you expect?” Taemin was surprised he could get that much out, but it was a safe thing for him to say. Nothing in that sentence was something that would make his pulse quicken or cheeks flush darker.

That didn’t happen until Jonghyun was switching it on and the soft buzz was filling the room.

Just that sound, just knowing that Jonghyun was going to use it on him, had Taemin whining and clenching his fists. He tried so hard to keep his eyes open, wanting to see what Jonghyun had in mind, but he couldn’t focus, couldn’t clear his head no matter how hard he tried. So when Jonghyun pulled his pants off and pressed the vibrator onto the base of his cock, Taemin’s whole body tensed as he let out a broken moan.

“Jonghyun hyung…” Taemin breathed out, hopelessly trying to catch his breath. That was all he could manage, whole body shaking as Jonghyun just held the vibrator to that one spot, torturing him.

“What is it, baby?” Jonghyun said, and even he sounded like his voice was trapped in his throat. Taemin could see him through his eyelashes and saw him biting his lips as he stared at his dick through his boxer briefs, sending a wave of pleasure through Taemin’s body just knowing he was being watched so intimately.

Taemin bit his own lips to hold back a moan before begging “ _Please_ move.” It wasn’t enough for him to only be touched in one spot, he needed more of this feeling, more of anything as long as it was from Jonghyun. He nearly shouted when Jonghyun wrapped one hand around his thigh, pulling it up to his shoulder before slowly, teasingly, moving the vibrator up the length of Taemin’s cock.

His leg was quivering on Jonghyun’s shoulder and if his hand wasn’t holding it up he definitely would’ve gone limp by now. Taemin could feel his cock twitching too as Jonghyun got closer and closer to the tip, and Jonghyun groaned at the sight, muffled from him still biting his lips. When the vibrator was finally pressed underneath the head of Taemin’s cock his whole body jolted as it sent a shock down Taemin’s body to his dick, back arching off the bed and making him whimper. He kept trying to move his hips, to try and press the vibrator into him that much more, but it was so hard to move with both his arms and one leg restrained.

He really did shout when Jonghyun stroked the tip back and forth, and he felt a wet spot form on his boxer briefs, and it was all so much he wanted to cry. “Jong…” But that was all he could get out before he was groaning again, moaning like breathing, no time for words.

“Are you still stretched from last night?” Jonghyun asked, and Taemin blushed that much darker as he remembered himself riding Jonghyun, and pulled on the tie around his wrists before remembering his couldn’t hide behind his hands. Instead Taemin just nodded, no air in his lungs left for words anymore.

Jonghyun turned the vibrator off and set it to the side and Taemin let out a sob. He was back to having nothing to help him cum and he wished they could just skip ahead to the part where Jonghyun was inside of him, hitting so deep into him he could see stars. But instead Jonghyun popped open his bottle of lube, which Taemin hadn’t even noticed he had grabbed and blushed darker, and spread it on his fingers. His clean hand pulled Taemin’s briefs off and he was staring again, fucking Taemin with his eyes and making him white-hot all over. When Jonghyun entered him Taemin’s ears rang and he let out a choked noise, because he had started with two fingers and Taemin thought he might break in half.

“Ah, hyung…” Taemin groaned out as he kept stroking his fingers in and out, stretching him open and making his breath catch in his throat. The dull pain softened and changed to pleasure soon enough, and then he started whimpering because suddenly it wasn’t enough anymore. He was still so hard it hurt and he needed something bigger that hit deeper inside of him. He rolled his body trying to make Jonghyun’s fingers reach further in and he laughed before sliding another finger in and pulling a moan from deep in Taemin’s chest.

“I love it when you get so needy like this.” Jonghyun said, and Taemin watched his face through hooded eyes. “I love hearing your sounds and watching your cock leak for me, just for hyung.”

Taemin wanted to say something back but he didn’t have the breath for it, let alone the ability to form words. The only things he could remember how to say came out, “Please, hyung…”, hushed tone a stark contrast to the moan that followed when Jonghyun hit a spot in Taemin that made him see white.

Either he understood Taemin’s desperation or he was motivated by his own, because then Jonghyun was taking his hand out, right as it was starting to feel amazing. Jonghyun didn’t bother with his shirt, just undid his pants with clumsy, slippery fingers, and crawled on top of Taemin, holding the base of his cock and prodding the tip at Taemin’s hole.

“You have no idea how badly I wanted this, baby.” Jonghyun breathed, clenching his teeth when he started slipping inside Taemin and getting a choked noise out of him. He was holding Taemin’s thighs in his hands and lifted them up again, up to his shoulders, Taemin’s heels digging into his back. “All I could think about was bending you over a table and making you cum all over it. You looked so good, so…” His voice trailed off at the end as he bottomed out, eyes fluttering closed as he moaned. Taemin’s heart stuttered at the praise and he opened his mouth to say something back, only to shout a little too loud when Jonghyun suddenly pulled back and slammed into him.

The position they were in had Jonghyun fucking him so hard this time, buried so deep inside him Taemin couldn’t even close his mouth for a second. He kept choking out little noises from each thrust, no air to hold anything out. His belt kept hitting Taemin’s ass when he entered him and the pain traveled straight to his cock, along with the way Jonghyun kept grunting from exertion. So Taemin tried so hard to hold back, tried sinking his teeth into his bottom lip, digging his nails into his palms, anything to keep himself from cumming too soon.

When Jonghyun leaned down and started kissing him again it was almost completely one-sided. Taemin let Jonghyun play with his tongue, suck and bite on his lips while Taemin panted over and over, trying to return the kiss as best he could despite everything. Jonghyun never got mad, though, just kept kissing Taemin back and moaning into his mouth, hot breath mixing together. Taemin could smell his cologne again and it was so perfectly Jonghyun in the way it filled him up, overtook his thoughts and made his toes curl.

Because Taemin was nearly bent in half Jonghyun didn’t have to hold him in place anymore, and he let his hands sneak up Taemin’s sides, nails tickling his skin. It made Taemin squirm and try to shy away but he couldn’t move, completely helpless to Jonghyun’s touches and the way they made him quiver and sob.

When Jonghyun’s thumbs started brushing his nipples he knew he was done for, body gone powerless, writhing in Jonghyun’s hold. He couldn’t hold his orgasm off anymore, all he could do was give in and let it completely take over him, let him go weak and limp. He felt the heat pooling in the pit of his stomach twist together, and he anticipated the next few thrusts that would finally push him over the edge with his eyes shut so tight he saw red.

One, two, three, four, and five, and he finally let loose, whimpering and shaking as he covered his flushed skin in his own cum. “Hyung, hyung, hyung…” He repeated over and over into Jonghyun’s mouth with each thrust as he helped him ride out his orgasm, the only word he could remember how to say anymore.

The warmth began to fade and Taemin was whimpering for oversensitivity now, biting onto Jonghyun’s lip way too hard judging by the groan he gave. Taemin’s body was so spent he couldn’t handle it anymore and he hissed out “Jonghyun hyung, I can’t...please…” His face was scrunched up and he was only able to breathe when Jonghyun pulled out, wrapped his hands around his calves and set them down on the bed.

But he didn’t want to end it like this, either, he wanted to help Jonghyun cum still, but the thought of saying what he was thinking was too much, made his ears ring and throat go dry.

“Hyung, mouth…” Was the best he could manage, praying that Jonghyun would understand him despite the extremely minimal information he could give. Thankfully Jonghyun understood him so well, inside and out, that that one word was all that he needed.

Jonghyun gave him an exhausted smile, chest rising and falling with each breath he took, hair clinging to his forehead before climbing up Taemin’s body. He stopped once his cock was at Taemin’s lips and then waited for him to decide what he wanted to do.

Taemin still didn’t have the energy to move his head and just took the tip into his mouth, sucking on it and moaning at the taste. This was just another thing that was brand new to Taemin; he had relied on instinct alone the first time and Jonghyun had said he did great, but Jonghyun wasn’t always truthful when it came to compliments. And yet Jonghyun was groaning above him despite him only having the head in his mouth, eyes fluttering closed and jaw hanging loose.

“So pretty, Taemin-ah…” Jonghyun breathed and Taemin felt a hand brush through his hair, coaxing him into doing more. He swirled his tongue around the head and pressed it into the slit, making Jonghyun hiss through his teeth, whisper out a desperate “Fuck.” It all just made Taemin more determined, trying his best to get more of those noises out of Jonghyun, make him feel as good as he made him feel.

The closer Jonghyun got to his release the more he began shallowly thrusting into his mouth, obviously too scared of making Taemin take more than he could handle but too close to the edge to sit still anymore. Taemin took it all, felt the weight of Jonghyun’s cock on his tongue and the slide against his lips, moaning so that the vibrations would travel up his length. Jonghyun had to rest his arm on the wall above Taemin now, clenching his teeth as he began to lose control, groaning at the feeling.

He was fucking Taemin’s face now, slamming into him so hard Taemin felt him hitting the back on his throat. Taemin just relaxed his mouth, watching as Jonghyun lost himself, lost his sense of how loud he was moaning, what faces he was making, and how rough he was being, and Taemin loved all of it.

Jonghyun’s hips lost their rhythm and Taemin expected it when he came, scrunched his face up when some of it missed the inside of his mouth and covered his lips. He didn’t open his eyes, still frozen like that, listening to Jonghyun’s heavy breathing while caught his own. His jaw was sore, his throat hurt, and he felt more exhausted than he’d ever been in his life and he loved every bit of it, smile starting to sneak across his lips.

He felt more than saw Jonghyun clambering off of him, apologizing over and over for cumming on his face. “Hyung got carried away, I’m so, so sorry Taeminnie, let me clean you up.” The thing is, Taemin wasn’t even close to upset. If anything he was mad that he was getting hard again when he was too exhausted for another round.

He opened one eye and found Jonghyun standing next to his bed, tissues in hand, staring at him with pink cheeks. Taemin’s smile changed into a smirk as he got an idea, closing his eyes and dragging his tongue across his upper lip. “Mmm…” He tried to imitate a cheesy porno moan as best he could, eyes lazily shut as though he was in complete bliss. He stared at Jonghyun again with half-open eyelids, saw Jonghyun’s own go wide as his jaw dropped. Then Taemin grinned for real, knowing exactly what he had just done, making Jonghyun storm out of the room, yelling behind him “Jesus fucking Christ, Taemin!!”

Taemin laughed at himself and tried to sit up and follow Jonghyun, only to be pulled back down. “Hyung, you’re coming back to untie me, right?”


	7. White Day

“Ow.”

“Hold still.”

“Ow!”

“I said hold still!”

“I am holding still, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re poking my eyeball with a fucking pencil!!” Jonghyun stared Kibum down who just tsked and grabbed his chin, forcing his head towards him.

“You’re the one who refused to wear mascara so you’re just gonna have to suck it up.” Kibum remarked, opening his mouth wide as he continued drawing eyeliner onto Jonghyun’s eyelids.

Taemin looked away as he fiddled with the hem of his skirt, constantly feeling like he was accidentally flashing everyone. The garment completely covered his thighs when he sat down, so he had no reason to be this anxious, but he still was. Thing is, he wasn’t used to wearing anything that didn’t stop his bare skin from rubbing together, at least not in public, so he kept instinctively thinking he had forgotten to wear pants when in fact he had done so on purpose.

It was Jinki’s idea this time to follow-up the cafe’s butler theme for Valentine’s with a maid theme for White Day, and Taemin couldn’t disagree when he pointed out it was the most logical conclusion. But the whole thing was still making his heartbeat skip and buzz under his skin. Somehow he’d been the only one out of the five of them who had never worn a skirt; Jinki saying he’d worn dresses for Halloween, Kibum saying a character he played in a high school musical wore skirts, Jonghyun admitting he had done it for fun as a teenager, and Minho just blushing and telling him not to ask. And it wasn’t like Taemin had a problem with wearing skirts because he was a man, in fact he was a firm believer that clothing should be gender neutral, he just didn’t realize how wearing one was going to feel so...exposing.

“Okay Taemin, you’re up.” Kibum called out, patting the stool in front of him. For a second, Taemin couldn’t move, frozen in his seat, stomach like lead. But with a gulp he managed to take the ten steps towards Kibum, hands still clasped around the edge of his skirt. “Suck in your cheeks like this.” Kibum said, demonstrating so Taemin could mimic him. Putting makeup on wasn’t nearly as bad as Jonghyun or Minho had acted like it was, Taemin thought, enjoying how the soft brush felt against his cheeks. The eyeshadow wasn’t bad either, it just made him flinch a little when he felt the sudden pressure on his eyelids.

The mascara was when he began to question all his life choices.

“Oh, what the fuck.” Taemin blinked over and over, trying to get the offense to his eyes off. His respect for people who wear makeup increased tenfold at that moment and he regretted ever thinking Minho was overreacting.

“Knock it off, it’s going to smudge!” Kibum scolded and Taemin tried not to move as he kept spreading the gunk over his eyelashes but he found it nearly impossible. It didn’t help that Taemin’s gut reaction to having bristles so close to his eyes was to immediately close them and back away, but instead he had to tighten his grip on his skirt so hard his fingers cramped just to try and control his own movements.

Once the mascara was finally done with Taemin sighed, thinking the worst was over. But then Kibum was applying lipgloss and every fiber of Taemin’s body rejected the thick liquid. “That’s strawberry flavored but I swear if you lick it off I will never help you find your phone again.”

Taemin smacked his lips and made a face. “If I’m not supposed to eat it then why is it flavored?” He said, grimacing at the way the gloss made his lips feel when he spoke.

“Don’t worry about it.” Kibum replied and shooed Taemin with a wave of his hand while the other rummaged through his makeup container. Taemin pouted at him but stood up nonetheless, finding his way to the couch where Jonghyun and Minho were. Jonghyun beamed at him and patted the empty spot next to him, Taemin returning the smile as he plopped down.

Then his hand found the hem of Taemin’s skirt and sent Taemin’s nerves alight. “This is nice.” Jonghyun said, rubbing the fabric between his fingers. Taemin furrowed his brow a little in confusion, because Jonghyun was in the room when he bought it so he’d already seen what it looked like. In fact, Jonghyun was the one who helped him make his final decision; light pink and white with thigh high stockings and a bow on top of his head. Jonghyun’s was similar except it was black since that was the only color Jonghyun ever bought, and he had to wear a long sleeved shirt underneath it to cover his tattoos. “Thank you.” Taemin responded despite his confusion.

Next thing Taemin knew Jonghyun was playing with the frills on the ends of his thigh highs and he started squirming, ears burning. Every brush of Jonghyun’s fingers went straight to his dick, so close to touching it but never close enough. “Very pretty.” He remarked, and then he was done touching and Taemin’s heart could stop pounding in his head. Except it didn’t, because it was filled with Jonghyun’s compliments, and Taemin realized he’d been blushing this entire time. He lifted his gaze from his lap to try and read Jonghyun’s face, to try and figure out if he knew that he had just turned Taemin’s world on its head, only to snort when he finally got a good luck at him.

“What?!” Jonghyun demanded as Taemin was still hunched over, trying to catch his breath.

“God, hyung, I can’t take you seriously when you look so pretty.” Taemin’s mouth quivered as he tried not to break into laughter again, taking in the sparkles on Jonghyun’s cheeks and the black eyeliner pointed into wings.

Jonghyun just rolled his eyes at him. “What, are you saying that because I’m dressed like this you can’t listen to me? I don’t have a problem listening to you!” He said, jutting out his painted red lips.

“No, it’s not like that, it’s just…” Taemin bit back another laugh that threatened to climb up his throat, “...it’s really...different…” He almost tried to hide his smile behind his hand before thinking better of it, surprised he was already getting used to the lipgloss he hated so much.

Jonghyun sighed and slouched over, resting his elbows on his knees and looking straight ahead. His expression changed and compelled Taemin to follow his gaze, wanting to see whatever he was.

Jinki was sitting in front of Kibum now, who had applied his own makeup while they were talking, and doing everything Kibum wanted without even being told. No “sit still”, no “suck in your cheeks”, no “press your lips together”. Jinki didn’t even flinch when Kibum was tracing along his waterline with eyeliner, even though the other three were just at the sight of it.

“How the fuck are you so good at this, hyung?” Jonghyun asked once they were done being bewildered.

Kibum and Jinki turned towards them now, both of their makeup looking considerably better than the other’s. “Jinki hyung lets me practice putting makeup on him sometimes.” Kibum answered, closing the lid of his makeup container. “Because he’s the best hyung ever~” He cooed in a baby voice and Taemin felt his breakfast start to find its way up.

“Only for the best Bummie ever~” Jinki said in the same baby voice and they pressed their foreheads together, making loud smoochy noises.

“Oh my fucking god, you two, you’re going to scare away our only other employees.” Minho walked up to them with his arms crossed, heels clicking against the floor. How he managed to walk in those, Taemin would never know.

“But it’s so much fun to mess with them!!” Kibum said, smile splitting across his face. And fine, Taemin could admit it was _kind of_ cute, but in the same way hairless dogs are.

As time went on, the chatter outside the cafe grew louder and louder, until it was so chaotic Taemin couldn’t hear his own thoughts anymore. Although Valentine’s Day had turned out to be fine, there was no promising that today would be the same situation; for all he knew it could be ten times worse. His nerves made his fingers twitch and eyes blink nonstop, biting down on his lip before tasting the gloss and quickly stopping, praying Kibum hadn’t seen him do that.

One minute before opening, Jonghyun grabbed Taemin’s shoulders and turned him towards him, adjusting the bow on top of his head and patting his hair down. Taemin gave Jonghyun a soft smile as thanks and did the same, except Jonghyun was wearing a flower behind his ear instead of a headband. Even after they both dropped their hands Jonghyun was still staring at him, his dark eyes making Taemin’s face heat up and heartbeat quicken. He opened his mouth to say something, but before they knew it, the front door was opened and girls were piling in, squealing at the sight of them.

Taemin was sure there were more girls here than on Valentine’s Day and he had no idea why. They had promoted both events the same way, and the event itself was basically the same as well, with the exception of their outfits. The realization didn’t dawn on him until he was leading two girls to their table while they hid behind their hands and whispered between each other; they just wanted to see them wearing dresses more than they wanted to see them wearing suits.

The sudden recognition made Taemin’s mouth go dry as he stumbled over his own feet. For some reason he had always assumed girls liked boys in suits; at least, that’s what he was brought to believe. He couldn’t say how many times he’d heard people say a well-fitted suit was basically lingerie for men. Of course, that was just something people who’d never seen men in lingerie said. Perhaps he’d just discovered a secret about girls he was never supposed to know.

All throughout his shift Taemin could feel people’s eyes on him. The makeup made him feel awkward like he couldn’t move his face right, the constant flow of air between his legs made him paranoid he was showing too much skin and he kept fiddling with his skirt, trying to pull it down to cover more of his thighs but it was no use, it was stuck the way it was. And it didn’t matter anyways because it was always covering him like it was supposed to and he had nothing to worry about. However he couldn’t say the same about Minho, because Taemin got an eyeful of his panties when he leaned down at one point and at that moment he realized Minho’s skirt length was intentional.

Taemin didn’t have a chance to breathe until it was finally his break. He shut the door to the back room and rested his head against it, taking in deep breaths through his mouth, counting how long he inhaled and exhaled. Even when he sat down to eat his lunch he couldn’t do it comfortably, he had to be extra careful for it not to touch his lips, otherwise Kibum would have a cow and that was the last thing Taemin wanted to deal with.

Five more minutes to himself before he had to head back out, and he had finished his food, so he just sat on the edge of the table, swinging his legs back and forth. As he stared at the light pink flats on his feet in contrast to his white thigh high stockings, Taemin thought he could begin to understand why girls liked this so much. He’d heard was pretty his entire life, but this was the first time he actually _felt_ pretty, and he had to force his smile down despite there being no one around to see it.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the door opened again, chatter from outside briefly filling the room before it shut. His heartbeat didn’t weaken when he noticed it was Jonghyun.

“Hyung? What are you doing back here?” Taemin said, hopping down from the table and approaching him.

“Taemin-ah,” Jonghyun started, eyes quickly darting down and back up, “how are you feeling out there?”

Taemin blinked. “Um, fine? I feel, like, weird about being in a dress, but that’s it.” He tilted his head at him. “Why?”

“You remember what we talked about last week?” Jonghyun caught his bottom lip between his teeth as Taemin stood in front of him now, and Taemin just made a face at him.

“We talk every day, hyung, you’re gonna have to give me more than that.”

Jonghyun took one step forward and now they were so close together Taemin could feel Jonghyun’s body heat radiating off of him, eyelids hooded while Taemin’s went wide. “About me teasing you in public.”

Taemin’s blood ran cold and he met Jonghyun’s dark eyes, feeling his stomach churn just at the thought of it before he laughed right in Jonghyun’s face. Jonghyun pouted at him but he couldn’t help it, if his body wanted him to laugh, he was going to laugh. “I’m sorry hyung, I just really can’t take you seriously like this.” The end of his sentence trailed off into another round of giggles.

He didn’t stop laughing until Jonghyun wordlessly pulled out what he was carrying in his pocket.

“Hyung, what is that?” He said, voice gone quiet. His eyes followed the string dangling from his hand to the silicone bullet at the end and he gulped.

“What do you think it is?” Jonghyun answered his question with another question, raising an eyebrow. And of course Taemin knew what it was, he was twenty years old, but his brain couldn’t quite register that Jonghyun was holding it in front of him.

When Jonghyun pulled out a small remote Taemin’s blood rushed south as he bit back a whimper, not caring about his stupid lipgloss anymore. He started fiddling with his skirt again and felt his knees go weak, not sure what to say now that his mind had already become so clouded.

Luckily, he didn’t need to say anything, because then Jonghyun was grinning at him and dropping to his knees, ducking his head underneath Taemin’s skirt. Taemin let out a little surprised noise when he felt Jonghyun’s fingers hooking under his boxer briefs, hands shooting backwards and gripping onto the table, trying to keep himself grounded. It only made everything a million times worse when he felt Jonghyun’s hot breath fanning against his dick, a barely-there moan escaping from his lips, eyes fluttering shut.

The vibrator was pressed right under the head of Taemin’s cock when Jonghyun pulled his underwear back up, keeping it in place. He pulled his head out from Taemin’s skirt, hair slightly ruffled, but kept his hands on Taemin’s hips. Taemin’s chest was rising and falling with each breath he took, staring down at Jonghyun through his eyelashes until he threw his head back as Jonghyun began massaging the base of his cock, forcing a gasp out of him and making him stumble.

“Break’s over, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun said, rising to his feet and striding towards the door, leaving Taemin gaping at his back as he left. He was cemented in place, already straining in his underwear and nails digging into the wood of the table. With a deep breath he let go, and tried keeping his breathing steady as he walked out the door, legs already shaking with each step.

Taemin could barely hear the customers while he waited on their table over his own heartbeat. He kept squeezing his eyes shut but it was no use, he couldn’t keep himself from blinking any more than he could stop the way his nerves were alight, anticipating the second the vibrator turned on.

He had just made it back to the table with their order in hand when a jolt of pleasure ran down his spine, making him jump and almost drop the tray. The customers quickly rushed over to him, taking the tray from his shaking hands and asking if he was alright. Taemin thought the words that came out of his mouth were reassuring but he wasn’t entirely sure what he had said, too distracted by the warmth in his stomach and the wet spot he could feel forming on his briefs.

And just like that, the vibrations stopped, and Taemin let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It was even more difficult to ignore how hard he was now, he could feel his dick throbbing, matching the pounding in his ears. Taemin briefly wondered what he must look like right now, face flushed and stumbling over his own two feet. If anyone asked he’d just say he had a cold and hope to god they’d take the bait.

The vibrator didn’t start up again until he was on his way to the kitchen to pick up the order for his next customer. He doubled over and quickly grabbed the edge of the counter, stealing Jinki’s attention away from the money he was putting in the register.

“Woah, are you okay?” Jinki asked, turning his body towards him in case he needed to run over to him.

Taemin’s breath shuddered when he answered. “I’m f-fine, hyung.” It was such a weak response but it was the best Taemin could manage, too terrified about accidentally moaning to say much more. He clenched his eyes shut and tried not to bite his lips, fingernails digging into his palms as he felt his voice start to rise up his throat.

Jinki didn’t say anything in return, but didn’t go back to the register, either. He just kept staring at Taemin, making his heart speed up as he worried Jinki could somehow hear the vibrator over the chatter of the crowd.

Then he went back to what he was doing like nothing had happened, not even looking at Taemin as he said “Try and make it home, at least, because none of us are going to clean up after you two.” Taemin felt his heart stop for a moment as that sank in before it picked up even faster than before. He opened his mouth to say something, an apology, maybe, and Jinki just smiled, not seeming annoyed in the least. “What, you think we’ve never done worse? Don’t sweat it, okay?”

The vibrations stopped again and Taemin really did have to bite back a whimper this time, wanting to feel more of the pleasure coursing through his body but at the same time not wanting to make himself any more obvious. He was able to stand up straight again, rushing to get his order as he realized he had taken way longer than he had meant to, and tried to appear as normal as possible.

Taemin’s day went on like that, each time the vibrator turned on feeling longer and stronger than the last. It never got to the point where he felt he was about to cum but he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Of course, the closer he got to his orgasm, the harder it would be for him to keep himself quiet, something he was having enough trouble with already. Not to mention how impossible it was for him to not move. But at least then he wouldn’t have to deal with the buzzing under his skin, the impossible hardness between his legs, for hours that felt more like days.

By the time they were closing, Taemin was covered in sweat and could barely keep himself upright.

He grabbed onto Jonghyun’s sleeve immediately after the last customer left. He wanted to glare at him but he didn’t even have the energy for that, just stared at him and tried to look as desperate as he felt. Jonghyun just grinned at him and said “I’m going to go change first, be right back,” leaving Taemin alone with this warmth encompassing his body, so exhausted but so worked up all at the same time. He collapsed onto a chair as he wiped a table down, because he wasn’t done with work yet, he still had so long to go before he could get any real relief. He couldn’t miss the way the other guys were pointedly trying not to stare at him but couldn’t hide their smiles either.

When Jonghyun came out of the bathroom Kibum went in to take his own outfit off, and Jonghyun quickly ran over to Taemin and took the cloth from his hands. “Sorry Taemin-ah, let me do it, you just relax for a bit.” He said and started working twice as fast to get both his and Taemin’s job done, and Taemin didn’t even have the energy to feel bad. He just sat back and tried catching his breath, hands pulled into fists around his skirt now that they were free, trying to keep them from touching anywhere else until they went home. “I drove my car here today.”

Taemin wasn’t sure if he was just lost because Jonghyun was being too vague or because of the arousal clouding his thoughts. “What?” He breathed out.

Jonghyun stopped cleaning for a second to look Taemin in the eyes, making his heart skip a beat. “Don’t change out of the dress.”

“What?!” He repeated, suddenly finding the breath in his lungs to sound mostly normal. “H-how am I supposed to make it to the car without someone seeing me?!” The minute it left his mouth Taemin already knew the answer; people _would_ see him, they just wouldn’t realize he wasn’t a girl. He guessed he should consider himself lucky, since Minho was currently pulling his jeans over his fishnet stockings and covering his dress with a long coat. Figures he wouldn’t be changing, either.

“Does that bother you?” Jonghyun asked, holding the rag in both hands and biting his lower lip. “You don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Taemin thought back to how he felt when Jonghyun had complimented the way he looked, to how he felt when he looked at himself today, to how easily Jonghyun ducked his head beneath skirt earlier. He thought of how soft the fabric felt on his skin and how quickly they could go straight to what Taemin craved once they arrived at home. He wasn’t uncomfortable at all; he felt more desperate and needy than he’d ever been before and he loved all of it, couldn’t wait to go back to Jonghyun’s apartment and release all the pent up feelings he had kept inside all day. So instead of answering Taemin said “Can you clean any faster?”

Jonghyun’s face broke into a grin, wiping down the table again before saying “Don’t get an attitude with me when I still have the remote.”

Like Taemin had forgotten that.

* * *

Jonghyun had to focus on the road once he was driving them to his apartment, so when he turned the vibrator on at the beginning of the car ride, he didn’t turn it back off. So now Taemin had to spend the short ride squirming and whimpering in his seat, still gripping onto the edge of his skirt so he wouldn’t touch himself. His hands ached to wrap around his cock, to push himself over the edge, but he couldn’t when he still needed Jonghyun’s touch, needed him inside of him, needed him to fuck him before he could cum.

It was actually a good thing that Taemin was too weak to walk upstairs on his own, because this way Jonghyun could help hide his face when he supported him by his shoulders. He laid down on Jonghyun’s bed the second he could, melting into the mattress before Jonghyun climbed on top of him, connecting their mouths and licking at his lips.

The way Jonghyun was already moaning just from their kissing made Taemin’s cock twitch, and his hips kept rolling despite Jonghyun angling his own far enough away that Taemin couldn’t reach. It didn’t matter, Taemin felt so hot, was so filled with need that he couldn’t keep still anymore, craving stimulation even when there was nothing to give it.

“So pretty, Taemin-ah, you’re so so pretty…” Jonghyun murmured, Taemin feeling every word against his lips. The praise made Taemin’s heart stutter and he wrapped his hands around Jonghyun’s shoulders, pulling him in that much closer and finally letting their hips meet. Taemin cried out when he could finally rub his cock against Jonghyun’s, so good Taemin saw white. “Taemin-ah, Taeminnie…”

Something in Jonghyun’s voice told Taemin he wasn’t just saying his name for the sake of saying it. “What?” Taemin said, clearing his throat at how rough he sounded.

“Taemin-ah,” he said again, and pulled back so Taemin could see his eyes, the way he was sucking on his lips. Taemin noticed his own lipgloss around Jonghyun’s lips and vaguely wondered in the back of his mind what his must look like. He took both of Taemin’s hands into his own before continuing, “would you...try calling me ‘oppa’?”

Taemin blinked. “O-oppa?” He stuttered, tasting the word on his tongue.

The things that did to Jonghyun weren’t even funny. He clenched his jaw and hissed through his teeth, thrusting into Taemin hard enough to force a noise of surprise out of him. “Fuck, baby…” His voice trailed off at the end, deep and breathy, and he kissed Taemin’s hands before letting go, gravity dropping them to either side of Taemin’s head again. When Jonghyun kissed him it was barely a kiss, him biting Taemin’s bottom lip so hard he whimpered into his mouth, sticking his tongue in and tasting him. He kept thrusting into Taemin so ruthlessly it almost hurt, right on the brink between pleasure and pain, and Taemin couldn’t kiss back anymore, could only let whatever sounds that were in him out through his open mouth.

When Jonghyun grabbed his ass and lifted him up to grind into him that much harder Taemin suddenly became aware of how badly he was shaking. “You want to ride oppa, don’t you, baby?” He breathed against Taemin’s lips and the thought made him shiver, made his toes curl in his stockings. “Want to let oppa watch you fuck yourself in your pretty little dress, huh?”

“Hy - oppa!” Taemin whined out, catching himself. He wanted it so bad he could taste it in their strawberry kiss, could feel it prickling beneath his fingertips. “Yes, yes please…” He breathed, gasping for air as Jonghyun didn’t let up for a even second.

Taemin heard Jonghyun open the cabinet where he kept his lube before he was flipped over, sitting on the bulge in Jonghyun’s pants, still rubbing against it. He watched Jonghyun open the bottle through his eyelashes, biting his lips from anticipation.

As Jonghyun began covering his fingers Taemin somehow found the sense through the haze in his head to take his boxer briefs off, knowing it would speed up the process. He hooked his fingers around the elastic band and pulled it down his thighs, chest rising and falling with each breath he took. His heart nearly stopped when he caught Jonghyun staring at him, feeling his face burn and movements suddenly go sloppy as he felt his eyes burying into him. When he threw them off to the side Jonghyun’s hands were on him again, clean hand grabbing his now bare ass while the other’s fingers brushed his hole, making him shut his eyes tight.

The first finger slipped in and Taemin let out a drawn-out moan, immediately feeling embarrassed at how loud he was at the small action. It was Jonghyun’s fault for teasing him all day, making him so sensitive to every light touch, every brush of their skin. But of course Jonghyun didn’t mind, he loved Taemin’s sounds, had said so himself. Taemin’s nails dragged across Jonghyun’s stomach when he pulled his hands into fists, making Jonghyun curse under his breath before he was fully inside of him.

Taemin didn’t have the patience to draw things out this time, too wired up from being edged all day, dick aching and throbbing. He started moving his hips back and forth, fucking himself on Jonghyun’s finger and stroking their cocks together. His eyes fluttered shut and he threw his head back, mouth open in a silent moan.

When Jonghyun added another finger Taemin had to bite his lips, already starting to feel the stretch. “You like it when oppa fingers you open, baby?” Jonghyun said, sounding like his voice was caught in his throat. Taemin nodded, no energy to speak anymore. “What else do you like?”

Another finger joined the first two and Taemin cried out, wracking his brain for words and taking in lungfuls of air to form them. “I like…” He started and cut himself off with a few more heavy breaths. “Like it when...oppa compliments me…” His face burned and he could feel his ears ringing from the embarrassment of saying these things out loud.

“You’re so cute when you’re needy like this.” Jonghyun said and Taemin let out a breathy laugh. Of course he would say that after he told him he liked it. “Everything about you is so beautiful right now, you have no idea.”

Taemin did have an idea. He was sweaty, his makeup was messed up, tears rimming his eyes, his face red hot, all things that normally would be considered unattractive, but not to Jonghyun. Not when it was Taemin who looked like that. And especially not when Taemin was dressed like this, just pastel colors and frills and bows that made Taemin feel so cute he knew he must be glowing.

Jonghyun pulled his fingers out and Taemin bit back a moan, already missing the feeling of being filled. He scooched back so he could undo Jonghyun’s pants and he didn’t miss the way Jonghyun’s stomach bounced when he laughed, and Taemin knew it was just because he found his eagerness cute. His laugh was cut short when Taemin placed his hand over Jonghyun’s cock, replaced with Jonghyun hissing through his teeth and throwing his head back. Taemin gave it a few strokes before unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans, no patience to drag it out any longer. He held the base in his hand while he lifted himself up, slowly sinking down and furrowing his eyebrows at the stretch.

Once he was fully seated on Jonghyun’s cock he stayed there, Jonghyun entirely sheathed inside of him, shaking hands moving back to rest on Jonghyun’s stomach while he breathed in and out. Jonghyun’s own wrapped around Taemin’s hips, and Taemin took that as a sign to move, feeling Jonghyun slip out and inside him again as they both moaned.

Neither of them lasted long when it was Taemin on top, and this time that’d be especially true from how long Taemin had been grazing the edge. He kept whimpering each time he sank down onto Jonghyun’s cock, riding it as best he could despite his constant shaking. Jonghyun wasn’t helping him this time, either, just looking at him, panting and raking his eyes over his body.

Taemin almost stopped when he felt the fabric of his skirt begin to lift, the sudden cool air surprising him enough to rip his thoughts away for a moment. His skirt was now bunched around his stomach, being held there underneath Jonghyun’s hands, leaving his cock completely bare as it bounced between them. He flushed red and tightened his grip on Jonghyun’s shirt. “Oppa…” He breathed, not sure what he was going to say afterwards.

“Oppa wants to watch your cute cock leak for me.” Jonghyun said and Taemin moaned, head drooping now that he was starting to lose his energy. But he couldn’t stop, couldn’t not chase down his impending orgasm no matter how loudly his thighs screamed or how shallow his breathing became.

But then Jonghyun was raising his own hips, lifting Taemin off the bed until he couldn’t keep moving even if he tried. Right when he was about to question Jonghyun he slammed into him and he screamed, only to be pounded into again at the same force.

“Jonghyun oppa!” Taemin cried out, scrunching his face as he took it, each thrust sending jolts of pleasure up his spine, turning his brain to mush. Jonghyun was cursing under his breath and his jaw was clenched from exertion, and suddenly Taemin felt every second of his own effort, collapsing onto Jonghyun’s chest as he kept fucking him.

He could hear Jonghyun’s grunts and moans so perfectly now, mouth right next to his ear, each one of them traveling below his stomach. Taemin’s own noises were muffled by his own hand, biting onto it as he felt the warmth gathering to his dick, knowing he was going to cum at any second.

“Baby…” Jonghyun moaned and Taemin whimpered, the pet name traveling straight to his cock. He suddenly felt another hand wrapped around his own, threading their fingers together, before he was being pushed up, just enough that they could look at each other. “Oppa...oppa wants to see your face when you cum, baby…” He breathed, and Taemin bit his lip, trying so hard not to let his head droop down, to keep his eyes from fluttering closed. He could feel his stomach growing hotter and hotter, could feel the saliva dripping out of the side of his mouth, feeling like his lungs might explode, like his heart might give out.

A few more brutal thrusts and Taemin was shouting as he came, weak body shaking as it ripped through him. His eyes rolled backwards and Jonghyun helped him ride it out, still fucking him at that same pace, letting out his own groans. He kept whining with each thrust, so sensitive as Jonghyun kept pounding into him, feeling it on every inch of his skin. Jonghyun kept making all these obscene noises until he moaned loudly in his ear, Taemin feeling his cum filling him and whimpering as it dripped out of him, heartbeat quickening. Thankfully not loud enough to drown out Jonghyun’s noises as he weakly thrusted into him, burning every one into his memory.

They lay there, catching their breaths, feeling each other’s hearts pound in the palms of their hands. Jonghyun got his energy back first, sat himself up, looking at Taemin through his hooded eyes. He connected their lips and Taemin hummed through his nose, savoring how soft they felt, both of them moving together and tasting the insides of their mouths.

When they pulled apart Taemin was still catching his breath, and the post-orgasm haze was just beginning to clear from his head. Taemin pouted as he finally realized something. “My dress…” He said, holding it up with one hand and grimacing at the cum stains covering it.

“It’ll wash out, it’s okay, baby.” Jonghyun replied, pressing a kiss to Taemin’s sweaty forehead and his lips turned up into a shy smile. He raised a hand and stroked Taemin’s pink cheek with the back of his fingers. “Hyung will take care of it.”

“Don’t you mean ‘oppa’?” Taemin said, face splitting into a wide grin.

Jonghyun lifted an eyebrow at him and Taemin’s throat closed up. “Do you really want to test me when I’m still inside of you?”


	8. Happy Anniversary

“Hyung?”

“Yeah?” A chorus of replies came.

Taemin sighed. “Jinki hyung.”

“What’s up?” Jinki said as he approached Taemin, holding a glass cup and a rag in his hands.

Taemin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “How do you deal with stage fright?” He asked, wringing his hands together.

Jinki blinked and pursed his lips in thought, focusing on his cleaning for a minute before answering. “I just do other stuff so I don’t think about it.” He replied, holding the items in his hands out as an example.

That wouldn’t be an option for Taemin. He was already setting up the decorations for the cafe’s anniversary on each table and he still couldn’t escape his own thoughts. It was like his body was on autopilot while his mind swarmed with a million horrific scenarios. What if he tripped while stepping onto their makeshift stage? What if he somehow messed up his solo? What if he forgot the words to their closing song?

All this anxiety for a dumb talent show. Taemin wanted to host a karaoke night with the customers instead, because that way he wouldn’t have to perform, wouldn’t have to feel this prickling under his skin, making his fingers twitch. Kibum had said the customers would’ve wanted to hear him sing anyways so this was the smarter option, and Taemin hated that he was right. “Thank you, hyung.” Taemin said, trying not to sound as disappointed as he felt. Jinki just nodded and turned around, back to the kitchen.

When Minho sweeped past Taemin a few minutes later, he knew he had to try and seize this chance again. “Hyung, how do you handle stage fright?” He asked as he set the plastic container of flowers down on the table. Jinki didn’t trust him with a real glass vase and Taemin couldn’t argue with that.

“Weren’t you a ballerina?” He replied, only to make a face and talk some more before Taemin could respond. “Male ballerina? Ballerino? Ballerini? Ballerin...uhh…”

“Just say ‘ballet dancer’, hyung.” Taemin said the words in a rush, wanting to get back to his question. “And yes, why?”

“Well, how did you deal with it back then?” He placed two hands on the end of his broom and rested his chin on them, waiting for Taemin’s answer.

“Uhh…” Taemin could feel the gears turning in his head as he tried to recall something from so long ago. “I don’t know? I stopped when I was eleven, I can’t even remember if I _had_ stage fright.” His mouth went dry as he thought back to that time, when he quit doing ballet. He had lied to his mom and said he hated it his whole life, blamed her for signing him up for it in the first place. But the truth was that he was just about to enter middle school and when the other boys found out he was a dancer...they said what anyone would expect an immature child to say. And while it turned out they weren’t entirely wrong, Taemin still didn’t deserve that treatment.

“Oh.” Minho said, processing Taemin’s response. “I mean, I just work it out.” He gestured to the broom in his hands. “Being active gets rid of the nerves. For me, at least.”

Taemin _was_ being active already, and that wasn’t helping him either. He thought his heart might burst at any second and the only thing he wanted was to get rid of this feeling, this terror slowly encompassing his whole body. “Okay, thanks.” He said, giving Minho the weakest smile, the only kind he could muster. Minho smiled back and resumed his cleaning duties, leaving Taemin to collapse onto a chair. Just a few minutes, he told himself, just sit down and relax for a few minutes until he could get his pulse to stop rushing to his ears.

He had barely sat down for ten seconds when the chair across from him was being pulled out, and Taemin’s view of it was replaced by Kibum’s body. “Look, you’re never going to get rid of stage fright, okay?” He said, hands placed in front of him.

Taemin felt his stomach drop. “Okay??” He drew his eyebrows together in utter confusion.

Kibum suddenly reached for him and nudged him in the shoulder. “It’s a good thing! Use it!” Taemin thought Kibum was acting crazy and his face must’ve showed it because then Kibum was sighing. “Turn that nervous energy into productivity. Practice. The more you practice, the less likely you are to mess up, and each time you remember everything perfectly, your confidence will increase until you’re not scared anymore.” He paused to give Taemin a smile. “If you weren’t worried about making mistakes, you would never have tried not to in the first place. It’s a good thing you want to show your best performance.”

For the first time, someone had told him something that actually helped. He did practice a lot, his solo piano song was something he’d been playing for over a decade. And Jonghyun had helped him so much with his singing, to the point where he noticed immediate improvement and had never sounded better in his life. “Thank you, Kibum hyung.” Taemin could give him a real smile this time, and Kibum was just as genuine as he returned the gesture.

After Kibum had stood up and was already heading back to the stool he was using the hang the ceiling decorations up, he turned around and said one last thing. “And on the off chance you do make a mistake, don’t act like you did. Nine out of ten times, no one besides you will even notice.”

Okay, Taemin could do that. Maybe. He really hoped so. Especially once people started filing into the cafe, making their way towards the chairs they’d lined up in a row. The “stage” was just a corner of the room they had cleaned out and faced all the chairs towards, but it was the best they could do. He gulped when he saw Jonghyun’s keyboard plugged into the wall, feeling his pulse quicken. It’ll be fine, he told himself, repeating what Kibum had told him in his mind, like a mantra.

* * *

Jinki was of course the host of the show tonight, as well as the opening act. Taemin and the rest of them were seated to the side, away from where the customers were facing, all watching Jinki except for him. He couldn’t stop watching his knees tap together as he shook his legs, thoughts threatening to wander but trying his best to focus on the music. His coworkers had all worked so hard on their performances, the least he could do was pay attention to them.

And while Taemin had a hard time processing the lyrics he was hearing, he could tell that Jinki had an absolutely gorgeous voice. It made sense considering his talking was already so soothing, but he had no problem staying on pitch, even during the highest parts of the song, and he always sounded so full and resonant. In the back of his mind Taemin thanked himself for choosing not to sing a solo and hoped he wouldn’t be too noticeable during their closing number.

After Jinki was Minho, and even though their voices were so different sounding, they somehow complimented each other perfectly. They even chose similar sounding songs; sweet ballads that surely made the audience melt. Unfortunately, Taemin had an even harder time understanding the words to Minho’s song because of the pounding in his ears. He was up next. But he really needed to be able to hear when Minho’s song ended so he’d know when to make his way onto their “stage”.

Near the end of Minho’s song, Taemin became aware of something encompassing his hand. Whether it had just started that moment or had been going on for longer, Taemin didn’t know. He looked down at it to find what could only be Jonghyun’s hand around his, and he followed Jonghyun’s arm all the way up to his face. The second Jonghyun felt Taemin’s eyes on him he turned his head so they were looking at each other. He gave Taemin a small smile and made his heart pound for a completely different reason, and suddenly he could feel how sweaty Jonghyun’s palm was. Normally, if it was anyone else, Taemin would think it was gross, but instead it was comforting to know that Jonghyun was just as nervous as he was. And he was sure the others were too, but they were so good at hiding it that he couldn’t tell. Or Taemin just didn’t know their mannerisms well enough to notice if they changed. Or both.

Taemin heard the applause before he processed that the music had stopped. His throat went dry and it hurt when he swallowed, but there was no going back now. Just as he was about to stand up, Jonghyun raised their hands to his lips, kissing his fingers, and just like that Taemin felt more ready for this than ever before. He still wasn’t _ready_ , but it was something, and any amount of anxiety off his shoulders was welcome.

When he walked across the stage Taemin couldn’t tell if he was being too slow or too fast, and neither option was better than the other. So he stayed at the same pace, nerves alight and feet like lead, making him feel both light and heavy at the same time. And as he sat down at the keyboard, he breathed a sigh of relief. He brushed his fingers across the keys as it powered up, the sight of them so familiar and comforting, and he knew this part. He knew he could play the piano well. He had nothing to worry about.

As he played the first chord he heard the audience “ooo”, and he couldn’t help but smile at that. He rode that high for the next series of notes, playing through them like it was the most natural thing in the world. Each time he hit the notes right he felt the crushing weight on him become smaller and smaller, and by the chorus he was playing louder, more confidently than the beginning.

Perhaps a little too confidently, he thought as he hit a wrong note. Trying not to panic, he kept playing through like normal, reminding himself to act like nothing happened, as Kibum advised. The dissonant chord kept replaying in his head and he wondered how truthful Kibum’s advice had been, because there was no way they didn’t hear that. Instead, the best he could hope for was that they did notice but didn’t care. At least he didn’t hear anyone laugh.

When the ending of his song faded out, Taemin nearly jumped out of his seat as the audience applauded. He could even hear someone cheering to his right, and when he looked he noticed it was Jonghyun, out of his seat and giving him a one-person standing ovation. Taemin felt his ears go hot and he looked away, bowing to the audience like he was supposed to but also using it as an excuse to hide his shy smile.

Jonghyun’s performance was after his, so when Taemin headed back to his seat, he passed Jonghyun on the way. He gave Taemin a huge, cheesy smile and two thumbs up and Taemin snorted. When Taemin sat down, the other three gave their own feedback, patting him on the back and whispering “you did great out there”. Taemin whispered back “But I messed up, though?”, tilting his head to the side. The other three gave him their own looks of confusion, and Jinki asked “When?”, and that was enough to calm Taemin’s worries. He bit his lip and thanked everyone, complimenting Minho and Jinki as well.

And then everyone went quiet as Jonghyun played the first notes on his guitar. Taemin had heard snippets of the song while Jonghyun was practicing, but never the whole thing, and he was so thankful he didn’t have to worry about his own performance anymore so he could give his full attention to Jonghyun’s. The guitar was soft as Jonghyun strummed it, but Jonghyun’s voice was softer, leaning towards the microphone as he sang the opening lines,

“A warm winter has come again

Coats, scarves, sweaters, mittens

Even without those things, I’m not cold

Because you’re always by my side”

Taemin felt as though he was floating, listening to Jonghyun’s voice. The handful of times he was lucky enough to hear Jonghyun sing had made him conscious of the two styles Jonghyun’s voice could be; this song happened to be the one that called to you, encompassed you in a hug, the kind only someone who truly loves you inside and out can give. It was the kind that made you feel like there were only two things in the world that existed, you and his voice. And for Taemin, at this moment, they might as well have been.

“Grateful feelings keep remaining

Your words keep lingering in my ears

So it’s not cold at all today, on this warm winter

Because you’re always by my side”

As the song went on, it became increasingly more apparent to Taemin that it was written about him. Jonghyun sang about events Taemin remembered fondly, back in the days when they first started dating and Taemin was so unsure of himself. But Jonghyun was always supportive, even when Taemin didn’t realize it in the moment, and his small acts of validation had made Taemin who he was today. True, he was still shy, but he no longer felt scared of people, and he was able to let go of mistakes when he used to let them fester in his brain until he hated himself.

There were many ways Jonghyun had helped Taemin. But the biggest one, he thought, was gifting him this powerful, beautiful emotion that he’d never felt before in his life.

So when Jonghyun sat next to him again after finishing his song, he didn’t want to keep it to himself. “I love you.”

At first Jonghyun didn’t say anything back, just looked into his eyes as Taemin stared at his, dark brown irises changed to midnight black in the low lighting. When he blinked and opened his eyes again, the night was dotted with stars, somehow dull in comparison to the natural brilliance of his gaze.

But of course the stars were just the fairy lights on the walls reflecting on the tears gathering in his eyes. Taemin felt his chest tighten, afraid he had just made a terrible mistake when Jonghyun held his hands, brought them to his heart, and said to him “I love you too, Taemin-ah. I love you so, so much.”

The smile that spread across Taemin’s face was so wide it hurt. “Really?” He asked, mouth having a mind of its own, because of course he knew Jonghyun was telling the truth. He didn’t need to ask.

Or perhaps he just wanted to hear it again. “Really.” Jonghyun replied, giving Taemin the best smile he could manage with tears running down his face. “I really love you, Taemin.”

Taemin thought if he could hear Jonghyun say that every day, he would be happy for the rest of his life.

* * *

“Say ahh~”

“Ahh~”

Jonghyun lowered the chocolate covered strawberry into Taemin’s mouth, petting his hair as he bit down on the fruit. They had a growing pile of strawberry tops on the paper plate Jonghyun had placed on the side table next to him, and he added onto it as Taemin chewed, not even remotely subtle about how he was staring at Taemin’s red lips.

Jinki and Kibum, however, were sitting on the floor in front of their coffee table, glaring daggers at Taemin sprawled across their couch with his head on Jonghyun’s lap. “Min!! Get in here!!” Kibum yelled, still glowering at Taemin. Not that he cared what Kibum thought when he was being treated like a prince by his gorgeous boyfriend.

“Wha?” Minho appeared in the entryway of the kitchen, voice muffled by the frozen pizza currently in his mouth.

“Look at them!!” Kibum continued, gesturing towards Taemin and Jonghyun. “They’re being the _most_ boyfriends right now and making us look like idiots!!”

Taemin snorted at that, because of course that’s what they were upset about. “Oh _hell_ no, give me one of those strawberries.” Minho stumbled over to them and wrenched himself in between Jinki and Kibum, reaching across the table for the plate of strawberries. “Wait, which one of you is gonna feed me?”

“I am.” Kibum and Jinki said at the same time.

“Kibum is.” Jinki followed up with. Minho immediately draped himself across Kibum and they mirrored Jonghyun and Taemin’s pose, even though Jonghyun wasn’t even feeding Taemin anymore, too mesmerized by the scene in front of him. Immediately after Minho had eaten the fruit, he clapped and bounced up, raising his eyebrows at Jonghyun and Taemin as if to say “beat that”.

“Are you really trying out-cute us?” Jonghyun sighed, before placing his hands on either side of Taemin’s face, squishing his cheeks together. “Have you _seen_ this face? You guys don’t stand a chance.”

Taemin pushed Jonghyun’s hands away and whined out a “Hyuuung…”, feeling his face go red.

“There’s only one way to settle who’s the cuter couple.” Jinki said, gathering everyone’s attention, taking a long pause and making them hang onto his every word. “We have to play Mario Kart.”

Kibum sighed, and Taemin shared his sentiments. Ninety percent of the time he had no idea what the hell Jinki was talking about. “Hyung, if you want to play Mario Kart, just say you want to play Mario Kart.” Kibum said.

“I want to play Mario Kart.” Jinki grinned at him and Kibum rolled his eyes, ghost of a smile on his face.

Unfortunately playing video games meant Taemin had to give up his very comfortable spot on the couch, but don’t let it be said he didn’t go down without a fight. It took all three of his hosts to pick him up and drop him on the ground, which in retrospect was much easier than he expected. Just another setback of being a literal pencil.

And when they were actually playing, Taemin couldn’t seem to win a single round even though he considered himself to be quite skilled at video games. He couldn’t even win when Minho and Kibum were trying to block each other’s views, which was often.

After his fifth loss in a row Taemin crossed his arms and pouted. “This game is homophobic, I’m gay, I can’t drive.” He grumbled, more for effect than anything else.

“Um, we’re all gay, though?” Minho laughed, choosing the next stage. Bowser’s Castle. Taemin swore he was picking all the hardest tracks on purpose, either to show off or make things harder for Taemin specifically. Probably both, actually.

“Well you guys own the game so you can practice as much as you want, so you gotta admit you have the advantage.” Jonghyun said, giving Taemin a secret smile, letting him know that he was standing up for him.

“Oh boo hoo, let me play you a song on the world’s smallest violin.” Kibum said, earning him a kick in the knee from Jonghyun, which just made the both of them laugh.

Ultimately, Taemin came in third once, and that was the best he was able to do the whole night. Each round was usually won by Minho but sometimes Jinki, and when Jinki beat Minho he’d pout until Jinki kissed him. And they thought _he_ was being grossly affectionate.

But by the time had come for him to leave, Taemin didn’t care much about the video game. Instead he was just glad he was able to spend time with these people who had become his friends, who made him laugh and feel included, the latter especially important. Because of his shyness, Taemin often felt left out of conversations, but they let him talk, they asked for his opinions on things, and that meant the world to him.

And if they were the world, Taemin’s universe was walking beside him right now. “...so that’s why I main Bowser, why do you main Yoshi?” Jonghyun asked him while they made their way towards Jonghyun’s car.

Taemin couldn’t fight the smile on his face from how adorably nerdy Jonghyun was being. “I dunno, he’s a green dinosaur, what’s not to like?”

Jonghyun pursed his lips, placing one foot in front of the other, not speaking. He didn’t open his mouth until a few seconds later, when they were seated in his car. “Taemin-ah…” He said, voice trailing off at the end, eyes pointed down.

“Yes?” Taemin replied.

Then Jonghyun was holding his hand again, lifting his gaze until it met Taemin’s, deep, dark eyes seeing into him, making him feel warm. “Would you like to come home with me?”

Taemin thought he’d never ask.

* * *

“Ah, hyung…” Taemin cried out as he dragged his nails across Jonghyun’s back, earning him a grunt in reply. He squeaked when he felt Jonghyun biting down on his skin, face buried in the crook of his neck, hair tickling his cheek.

The slap of skin on skin filled the room every time Jonghyun thrusted into him, sending waves of pleasure through his body. His cock was leaking precome onto his stomach, his legs quivering where they were wrapped around Jonghyun’s waist. When Jonghyun hit a spot inside him that made him see white, his toes curled and his heels dug into the small of Jonghyun’s back, trying to take him in deeper, not a centimeter of space between them.

Jonghyun started moaning more and more against Taemin’s neck, and his grip on Taemin’s hips became so tight it hurt, but Taemin didn’t mind, he loved it when Jonghyun lost control, covered him in his marks. His lips trailed up Taemin’s jaw until he could kiss him again, easily slipping his tongue in from how Taemin couldn’t seem to close his mouth no matter how hard he tried, breathing too heavily, whimpering with each thrust.

“Fuck, Taemin-ah...baby…” Jonghyun groaned against his lips, brushing them together as they moved. He kept trying to kiss him despite his breath growing more and more labored, and the gesture made Taemin’s heart feel full, still pounding in his ribcage. Taemin did his best to kiss him back, but it was mostly just them sharing air, their hot breaths mixing together.

Jonghyun’s hips began to lose their rhythm and Taemin could feel the warmth gradually building in his lower stomach, and he needed more to be pushed over the edge, felt the urge tingling under his fingertips. “Jonghyun hyung, I - please…” He had to bite his lip after a particularly powerful thrust, muffling his drawn-out moan.

“Please what?” He breathed, and it wasn’t teasing this time, he actually didn’t know. Taemin was too far gone to tell him what he wanted, but he couldn’t think of how to say it, mind so impossibly foggy he couldn’t come up with words. So instead he dropped his hand from Jonghyun’s back, shaky and weak, and reached in between their bodies, letting out a noise as he wrapped his hand around his neglected cock.

With a few more poundings into Taemin’s body Jonghyun was filling him with cum, groaning as he kept shallowly thrusting to ride it out. Taemin could feel his chest rising and falling against his as he caught his breath, little puffs of air against Taemin’s mouth. Taemin sped his hand up, knowing he’d need that much more to make him cum now that Jonghyun could no longer fuck him. His dick was so sensitive it was almost too much to keep touching it, back rising off the bed, letting all the noises that were in him out.

Once Jonghyun had come down from his high he lifted himself up, eyebrows furrowed as he took in Taemin’s state. He almost had a mind to stop touching himself but there was no way he could stop now, orgasm so close he could taste it on the tip of his tongue.

When Jonghyun’s eyes finally saw what Taemin was doing they went wide, and Taemin had to whimper at the way he was staring at him, free hand covering his eyes. He felt Jonghyun pull out and he whined at the loss, as well the cum dripping out of him, but he still didn’t dare open his eyes. He knew what he’d find if he opened them, and knowing Jonghyun was watching him jerk off was already too much for him. “Hyuuung…” His face was gradually growing hotter and hotter, and he worried if he’d be able to cum like this, so embarrassed his cheeks burned.

“Go faster, Taeminnie.” Jonghyun said, voice rough from overuse. Taemin stopped as he took that in, whimpering at the command, at the sound of Jonghyun’s voice. But he started up again, more hesitant this time, but quickly worked up to what Jonghyun had said. The longer he went on the more desperate he became, shaking becoming more intense each time he touched the head of his cock.

“Hyung, please, I-I can’t…” Taemin sobbed out, hoping to god Jonghyun would understand, no energy left for words anymore.

Taemin felt something slip inside him and he immediately recognized it as Jonghyun’s fingers, knowing the feeling of them so intimately well, moaning at the realization. They stroked in and out of him, torturously slow, and Taemin kept squirming, trying to take more of them in, to make Jonghyun go faster, to do anything.

But then Jonghyun was curling his fingers, and finally the knot in Taemin’s stomach unraveled. He cried out as his orgasm rushed through him, and his whole body shook as he came onto his stomach and hand. Jonghyun kept moving his fingers inside of him to help him ride it out and Taemin scrunched his face, so overstimulated now, letting out all these broken moans.

After Taemin’s whimpers turned to sobs Jonghyun pulled his fingers out and Taemin could breathe again. His body had gone limp against the mattress, one hand still around his cock, no energy to move it. His lips had gone dry from how harshly he was panting, and he hummed through his nose when he felt Jonghyun’s own cover them.

Jonghyun traced his bottom lip with his tongue before entering him, flirting with his tongue, making Taemin shiver. He almost wrapped his arms around Jonghyun’s shoulders again, wanting to pull him in closer, kiss him deeper, but then he remembered the mess currently on his hand. “Jonghyun hyung…” Taemin trailed off at the end so Jonghyun would pull back, look at him as he listened. “My hand is covered in cum.”

Jonghyun just gave him a smile and held his clean hand, helping him sit up. “That’s okay, hyung will take care of you.” He said, accentuating it with a kiss on Taemin’s forehead, causing his heart to flutter and cheeks go pink.

And now there was just one thing Taemin wanted to tell him, one thing that was all Taemin could think as he looked at Jonghyun’s face, saw the way his smile met his eyes, saw how swollen and red his lips were from desperately kissing him. “I love you, hyung.”

Jonghyun pressed their smiles together, and although the action was enough for Taemin to already know, he said it out loud anyways. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept cutting out different scenes in this one and it ended up being too short, so.......surprise out of place porn.


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